Stalin meets Governor, seeks early nod for 21 pending bills

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday met Governor R N Ravi seeking his early nod for 21 legislations passed by the Assembly, including the one that seeks to clip his powers in the appointment of vice-chancellors of state-funded universities.

Stalin, who was accompanied by senior ministers Durai Murugan, K Ponmudy, and Thangam Thenarasu, met Ravi at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday evening. An official release from the Tamil Nadu government said the Chief Minister specifically referred to the legislation that seeks to establish a Siddha university in the state.

This is the first meeting between Stalin and Ravi after the Supreme Court released A G Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, after holding that decisions taken by the cabinet are binding on him. The state government and DMK had billed the verdict as a “grand victory” for federalism and state rights.

“At the outset, the Chief Minister thanked the Governor for forwarding the anti-NEET bill re-enacted by the Tamil Nadu government to the President of India,” the statement said.

Stalin told the governor that as many as 21 bills passed by the Assembly are pending before him for his approval. Important among them are legislations regarding reducing the tenure of cooperative societies, and the universities bill that allows the state government to appoint vice-chancellors to state universities instead of the Governor.

“The Chief Minister requested the Governor to uphold the Constitution and to fulfil the wishes of the people of Tamil Nadu,” the statement said.

DMK has been accusing the Governor of not fulfilling his constitutional obligation by “sitting on the bills” for months together. Stalin had in April mounted a serious attack on Ravi by accusing him of “refusing to even do the postman’s job.”