Tamil Nadu CM condemns Centre for seeking SC opinion on deadlines for Governor

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday condemned the BJP-led led Centre for using the Presidential reference route to seek the Supreme Court's opinion on deadlines for governor over Bills, as outlined in a recent apex court judgment, and said it revealed the union government's "sinister intent." Stalin, president of the ruling DMK asked non-BJP states to join legal struggle to defend the Constitution.

In a post on 'X,' Stalin said: "I strongly condemn the Union Government's Presidential reference, which attempts to subvert the Constitutional position already settled by the Supreme Court in the Tamil Nadu Governor’s case and other precedents." He alleged this attempt clearly exposed the fact that the Tamil Nadu Governor acted at the BJP's behest to undermine the people’s mandate.

This was 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, Stalin claimed.

"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 chief minister posed a number of direct questions, which includes the following. "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? Further, Stalin wondered if the union government intended paralysing non-BJP state legislatures.

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."

Also, he appealed: "In these grave circumstances, I urge all non-BJP states and party leaders to join this legal struggle to defend the Constitution. We will fight this battle with all our might. Tamil Nadu will fight — and #TamilNadu will win!