E-Paper
7 bills adopted by T’gana assembly await guv nod
According to a second official in the Raj Bhavan, the governor appears to have certain reservations over the constitution of the common recruitment board for making appointments in 15 state universities.
Seven bills adopted by the Telangana Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session last month are pending assent from the Raj Bhavan, government officials familiar with the matter said, indicating a possible widening of differences between chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao and governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
On September 14, the Telangana assembly passed eight bills, including one on the constitution of a common recruitment board for making appointments in 15 state universities, of which the governor is the chancellor.
Of the eight, the governor gave her assent to only one bill – Telangana Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, seeking inclusion of some more items under the purview of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as per a decision taken at a GST council meeting held by the Union finance ministry in June.
Seven bills, however, are awaiting the governor’s assent. They are: the University of Forestry Telangana Bill 2022, Azamabad Industrial Area (Termination and Regulation of Leases) (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill-2022, the Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of age of superannuation) (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Telangana Universities Common Recruitment Board Bill 2022, the Telangana motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill 2022 and Telangana State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Amendments Bill, 2022.
“The bills were sent to Raj Bhavan for the governor’s approval a day after they were passed in the assembly. It is a routine practice for the governor to sign them and return them within a week. But she (Soundararajan) has cleared only one bill on the GST Act amendment and has kept the remaining seven pending for reasons known to her,” one of the government officials cited above said, seeking anonymity.
When contacted, a senior Raj Bhavan official said he was not aware of the developments. He, however, added the governor would go through each and every file before coming to any conclusion.
“Though she has no doubts over the legislative competence in passing the bills, she must be taking enough caution before giving the approval to the bills to avoid any legal complications in the future,” the official said, asking not to be named.
According to a second official in the Raj Bhavan, the governor appears to have certain reservations over the constitution of the common recruitment board for making appointments in 15 state universities.
While introducing the bill in the assembly last month, state education minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy said it aimed to improve transparency in appointments and assured the autonomy of the institutions would not be affected.
A board would be established with chairman of the higher education council as its head, she said. “A common selection committee would also be in place with its chairman and subject experts from universities wherein representation would be ensured to all categories,” she said.
The state government official quoted above said once the governor clears the bill, it would pave the way for appointment of hundreds of vacancies in the universities. “So, the delay from Raj Bhavan is hampering the process,” the official said.
Chief ministers of several non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in the past have also raised concerns over the governor’s delay in approving the bills cleared by the respective state assemblies.
It is unfortunate to see the governor, who holds a Constitutional position, not show respect towards the state legislature, which is also a major Constitutional wing, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) spokesperson and lawmaker Palla Rajeshwar Reddy said.
“It is mandatory for the governor to give her consent to the bills passed by the legislature. If she has any queries, she can always get a clarification from the government. But she cannot sit over them for days together and delay the legitimate process,” Reddy said.
The TRS leader also alleged Tamilisai was acting at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was trying to create troubles for the democratically-elected state government.
Political analyst and columnist Ramu Suravajjula said the developments reflected a serious communication gap between Tamilisai and Rao “which is not good for democracy”.
“If the governor has any objections to the bills, she can raise the same by sending them back to the government. But it is not fair on her part to keep them with her for a long time with a motive to corner the government. She cannot act in vengeance, just because she had faced humiliation from the government in the past,” Suravajjula said, referring to instances wherein the governor was reportedly denied protocol facilities during tours to districts and when she was not allowed to address a joint session of the state legislature during the budget session this year.
