Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday came down heavily against the Union government’s Presidential reference in connection with the Tamil Nadu Governor case, saying that it attempts to “subvert” the constitutional position already settled by the Supreme Court.
He further accused Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi of acting at the “behest” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I strongly condemn the Union Government’s Presidential reference, which attempts to subvert the Constitutional position already settled by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Tamil Nadu Governor’s case and other precedents,” Stalin posted on X, adding, “This attempt clearly exposes the fact that the Tamil Nadu Governor acted at the BJP’s behest to undermine the people’s mandate.”
Stalin alleged that the questioning of the Supreme Court ruling in the Tamil Nadu Governor case (Governor vs State) was an attempt to “weaken democratically elected state government”. He further said that this challenges the authority of the Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the constitution.
“This is nothing but a desperate attempt to weaken democratically elected state governments by placing them under the control of Governors serving as agents of the Union Government. It also directly challenges the majesty of law and the authority of the Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the constitution,” the Tamil Nadu CM.
Stalin questioned the objections raised over prescribing time limits for governors to act on the state legislative bills and asked, “Why should there be any objection to prescribing time limits for Governors to act? Is the BJP seeking to legitimise its Governors’ obstruction by allowing indefinite delays in Bill assent? Does the Union Government intend to paralyse non-BJP State Legislatures?”
He accused the BJP-led government in the centre of “sinister intent” to hamper the basic distribution of power under the constitution. He urged the non-BJP state and party leaders to join the legal struggle.
“Our nation stands at a critical juncture. The questions raised in the reference reveal the BJP-led Union Government’s sinister intent to distort the Constitution’s basic distribution of powers and incapacitate the State Legislatures dominated by opposition parties. Thus, it poses a clear exigent threat to State autonomy,” Stalin added.
This comes after, in a firm rebuttal to the Supreme Court’s April 8 verdict, which imposed deadlines on the Governor and the President for deciding on state Bills in the Tamil Nadu government versus Governor case, President Droupadi Murmu questioned the validity of such a ruling, emphasising that the Constitution does not prescribe any such time frames.