Stalin writes to 8 non-BJP CMs to unite for legal battle against Prez reference
Stalin sought the chief ministers' cooperation to “evolve a coordinated legal strategy before the court and present a united front”.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Sunday wrote to his eight counterparts in non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states, urging them to oppose the Presidential Reference sought by the Union before the Supreme Court.
Stalin sought their cooperation to “evolve a coordinated legal strategy before the court and present a united front”.
Stalin’s letter comes days after President Droupadi Murmu on May 13 put forth 14 questions that deal with the constitutionality and reach of an April 8 judgement by the Supreme Court, setting deadlines for governors and the President for clearing state bills.
The top court’s landmark verdict was based on a plea filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-ruled Tamil Nadu government against governor R N Ravi for sitting on state Bills and forwarding them to the President for consideration.
“The BJP-led Union government is attempting to unsettle this judgement, which can be invoked as a precedent by other States when faced with an obstinate Governor,” Stalin said. “As the first limb of their ploy, the BJP Government has advised the President to seek a reference before the Supreme Court.”
This isn’t the first time that Stalin has rallied chief ministers of opposition ruled states. He led a joint action committee against the proposed delimitation exercise based on population on March 22 in Chennai with CMs of four states and political leaders from three other states. In 2021, he wrote to 12 CMs of non-BJP ruled states at the time and also sent delegations from Tamil Nadu to meet them to seek their opposition against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
On Sunday, he wrote to chief ministers in Himachal Pradesh (Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu), Jharkhand (Hemant Soren), Jammu & Kashmir (Omar Abdullah), Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan), Karnataka (Siddaramaiah), Telangana (Revanth Reddy), Punjab (Bhagwant Mann) and West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee).
The landmark April 8 verdict found Governor Ravi’s action illegal, and the apex court set fixed timelines for governors across India and the President to act on bills passed by state assemblies.
“This historic judgement obtained by my Government is not only for my State but for all States since it upholds the federal structure and distribution of powers between the States and the Union, thus effectively preventing the obstruction of legislations enacted by democratically elected State Legislatures by an appointee of the Union and an unelected figurehead - the Governor,” Stalin said. “All of us have been witness to the way in which the BJP led Union Government has used Governors to obstruct and impede functioning of opposition ruled States.”
Stalin listed obstructions such as inordinately delay in assenting to Bills, withholding assent without valid constitutional or legal reasons, sitting over routine files and government orders, interfering in appointments to important posts. He also accused the governor of abusing his position as Chancellor of Universities to politicise educational institutions. “They have been able to do so by taking advantage of the fact that the Constitution is silent on certain issues, because the framers of the Constitution trusted that those holding high constitutional office would act in accordance with constitutional morality,” Stalin said. Highlighting the SC’s verdict on governors, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said that the judgement will ensure that the Union Government does not unduly interfere with the State Governments performing its roles and responsibilities.
Stalin added that though it is well known that the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court cannot be invoked when the issue has already been decided by an authoritative pronouncement of the court, the BJP led Union Government seeking a reference, which points to “their sinister intent.”
“At this crucial juncture, I had called upon all State Governments and leaders of regional parties, who are opposed to the BJP and committed to preserving our federal structure and state autonomy, to unite in the upcoming legal battle,” Stalin said.
