Chennai A resolution similar to the one in Tamil Nadu will be tabled in the Delhi assembly in the upcoming session that would urge the central government to fix a time frame for governors and lieutenant governors to carry out their constitutional duties such as approving bills passed by legislatures, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal wrote in a letter to MK Stalin.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president on Sunday thanked Kejriwal for agreeing with him. “Indeed, the sovereignty of the legislature is supreme in any democracy. No ‘appointed’ Governor shall undermine the legislative power & responsibilities of ‘elected’ Govts,” Stalin said on Twitter and posted Kejriwal’s letter, which he had received on April 15.
A silent war is being waged by the Union government and added that constitutional heads in non-BJP ruled states, including Delhi, are indefinitely holding bills and undermining elected governments, Kejriwal said, adding that this was a violation of constitution.
“It is a foregone conclusion that democracy in India is suffering from blows every single day,” Kejriwal said in his letter to Stalin. “The interface of State Governments and their Governors/Lt. Governors has effectively become a battlefront where a silent war is being waged by the Union Government. Governors/ Lt. Governors are wilfully undermining democratically elected state governments, and obstructing administration as per their whims and fancies. They have become the face of the deepening chasm between the Union and the States run by non-BJP governments.”
“The cherished ideal of cooperative federalism has been rendered a lip-service, despite the State Governments honouring the principle to its core,” the Delhi chief minister said. “Unfortunately, this has resulted in the people raising questions about the very role of the solemn office of the Governor/ Lt. Governor.”
The situation in Delhi “is further exacerbated” since their the lieutenant governor has regularly meddled with the democratic mandate of Delhi’s legislature, blocked the presentation of Delhi’s budget and has brought the functioning of the government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) to a standstill under the guise of the unconstitutional 2021 amendment to the GNCTD Act, Kejriwal said.
“The actions of the Lt. Governor is hindering the functioning in every area where our Government seeks to make giant strides – be it healthcare, education, water, power, industries, finance or infrastructure,” he said.
This is a development following Stalin’s letter on April 11, which was sent to chief ministers of non- BJP ruled states, seeking their support for Tamil Nadu’s resolution. Stalin had urged them to adopt similar resolutions in their state assemblies.
Kejriwal is the first to show support to the Stalin-led government. Tamil Nadu on April 10 urged the Union government and President of India to fix a time frame for governors to approve draft legislations, given the long standing feud between the state government and governor R N Ravi over the pendency of more than a dozen bills in the Raj Bhavan.
The Raj Bhavan immediately informed the Tamil Nadu secretariat that Ravi had approved the bill banning online gambling two days earlier. This was after the state assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 for the second time on March 23, since Ravi had retired the Bill after 131 days.
On March 6, the Governor told the state government that it does not have the legal competency to pass a law on the subject after the assembly had first passed the Bill on 19 October last year.
Kejriwal commended Tamil Nadu for its firm stand. “No constitutional functionary should think that they are law unto themselves. It is high time that we unequivocally highlight that India is governed by the rule of law, and not by the writ of the Central government and its representatives,” Kejriwal said. “We should collectively resist any action to decimate or obliterate State/ NCT Governments.”