India's Tamil Nadu government has urged the center and president of the country to issue instructions to the governor to clear bills passed by the state legislature within a specific time period.
The DMK-led state government moved a resolution after Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi allegedly did not clear bills passed by the state's legislature, state chief M.K. Stalin said in the State Assembly.
"This is the second resolution I am bringing against the governor. The Sarkaria Commission had said that the governor should be a detached figure. Dr. Ambedkar has said that the governor should not intervene within the authority of the state government. Several Supreme Court orders have said that the governor should be a guide. But our governor is not ready to be a friend of the people," Stalin said.
"The governor is functioning against the welfare of the people," Stalin stressed.
Out of 234 assembly members, 146 were present when the state government adopted the resolution, of which 144 supported the resolution, and two legislators of the BJP opposed it.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party AIADMK abstained from discussing the resolution, and walked out of the House once it was adopted.
The controversy started after the governor did not give ascent to the state government on banning online gambling. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously adopted a bill to ban online gambling twice. However, both times the governor sent it back for reconsideration.
While passing the bill, the state government said that 41 people had ended their lives in Tamil Nadu after losing money via online gambling. However, the state government did not specify the time period.
In January, the state government passed a resolution against only the text of the governor's original speech prepared by the state government and translated by the speaker being included in the record.
As per India’s constitution, a bill can only be adopted as a Law after the respective state governor assent, and then they forward it to the president for signing.
Article 200 of the Constitution provides four options to a governor. These are: to give assent, withhold assent, return the bill to the assembly for reconsideration, or reserve it for the consideration of the president. This means the governor should exercise one of these options as soon as possible so that the legislative process achieves finality. However, they cannot hold up the bill.