The Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s remarks on withholding bills sent by the state assembly have sparked controversy, with Chief Minister MK Stalin condemning the comments and demanding that the Governor withdraw his statement. The Governor had claimed that withholding a bill is a decent language to mean rejected. The Governor’s comments were made during an interaction with civil service aspirants for the ‘Think to Dare’ series at Raj Bhavan. Mr Stalin has maintained that needlessly delaying approval of bills amounted to “dereliction of duty” on the part of the Governor. The Governor of Tamil Nadu, RN Ravi, has been accused by Chief Minister MK Stalin of delaying bills, ordinances, and amendments sent to him for approval by the people’s representatives.
Mr. Ravi has claimed that he has the power to withhold bills, which Mr. Stalin says is “unbecoming” of a person who holds a constitutional position. In response to the accusations, Mr. Ravi alleged foreign funding behind the 2018 anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi and the Kudankulam nuclear plant. However, Raj Bhavan sources have stated that the Governor’s comments were general and he did not specify any bill in particular. Mr Stalin’s statement suggests that he believes that the Governor should respect the democratic process and give assent to bills that are passed by the assembly. According to him, the Governor should not act as a roadblock to the will of the people’s representatives. He also emphasizes the importance of the Governor withdrawing his previous statement to uphold his oath of office.
