Over the weekend, posters emerged across Chennai calling for Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi to leave his post after he declared that ‘the Bill is dead’ during an interaction with civil service aspirants. Governor Ravi had explained the role of the Governor in the Constitution, stating that he has the option to give assent or withhold a Bill passed by the Assembly. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin accused the Governor of not fulfilling his duties and failing to give assent to 14 bills. The Chief Minister criticized the Governor’s actions, stating that they not only showed dereliction of duty but total obstruction. Congress veteran and former finance minister P Chidambaram also criticized Ravi’s comment, saying that ‘when a Governor withholds assent for no valid reason, it means ‘Parliamentary Democracy is dead’.’
In his interaction with civil service aspirants, Governor Ravi had clarified that the Governor’s responsibility is to protect the Constitution, stating that ‘if it transgresses the Constitutional limit, the Bill passed by the Assembly does not become a law until the Governor assents to it.’ Ravi explained that when a Bill passed by the Assembly is forwarded to the Governor for assent, the Governor has three options – to assent, withhold the assent or reserve the Bill for the President. He added that ‘withholding’ means the Bill is dead, and it is a ‘decent language’ used instead of ‘rejected.’
The debate around Governor Ravi’s actions and statements continues, with some accusing him of obstructing the functioning of the state legislature, while others support his actions as part of his role as a protector of the Constitution.
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