Jaitley takes exception to governors withholding bills

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on took exception to governors withholding bills and said that it amounted to a breach of the constitutional provisions which stipulated heads of states to abide by the advice of the state governments.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on took exception to governors withholding bills and said that it amounted to a breach of the constitutional provisions which stipulated heads of states to abide by the advice of the state governments.

HT Image

"It has been observed that the governors in some states have a tendency to withhold the bills sent to them for assent that creates needless problems for the state governments in discharge of their duties towards the people," he said at the orientation progamme for the state legislators.

"Those governors withholding legislations have been simply acting beyond their jurisdiction," he said.

By sitting on the legislative proposals for long and without citing reasons, the governors were also guilty of jeopardizing federal structure of the Constitution, the BJP leader said.

The time has come that either the Centre should clarify the role of the governors or the judiciary should take up interpretation of the legal position of the heads of the states, he said.

The senior BJP leader said that the state assemblies were at liberty to discuss the conduct of the governors and censure the occupants of the post if the latter failed to exercise 'constitutional statesmanship'.

Bihar government and governor Devanand Konwar have been at loggerheads over the alleged interference of the latter in the legislative process of the state.

Jaitley said that the state assemblies can also censure the governor and cited an example in Tamil Nadu in 1970s.