CHENNAI: State Law Minister S Regupathy on Friday disclosed that the Tamil Nadu Governor has forwarded the ten re-adopted Bills sent by the State legislature for the President’s approval to delay assent.
Talking to media persons in the city, Regupathy said, “If the Governor had stated the reasons before “returning” the Bills, we would have given necessary clarification, readopted the Bills, and sent them again for his assent. But, he had returned the Bills without stating any reason.”
Asked about the status of the Bills when the Supreme Court takes up Tamil Nadu’s case against the Governor, the Law Minister said, “Now after we re-adopted the Bills, he is under compulsion to approve the bills. In order to delay assent to the Bills, he has sent them for the President’s assent through the Union Home Ministry. He has informed the same.”
Asked if the government was perceiving it as a delaying tactic, the Minister said, “Don’t know why he has the feeling that the authority vested with him must not be lost. Don’t know how fair it is to assume that a State government must not have the authority to even appoint a Vice-Chancellor.”
Referring to the Vice-Chancellor appointment procedure, Regupathy said that a committee is constituted by a CM or a government elected by the people and the committee comprises a nominee of the Governor, the government, and the syndicate.
Adding that the search committee recommends three names and one of them must be selected, the law Minister wondered, “What is wrong in proposing that the state government, instead of the governor, must select the person? We have adopted and sent the Bills for assent to prevent the infringement of people’s rights and protect democracy.”
Most of the ten re-adopted Bills the Minister claimed to be forwarded to the President by the Governor pertaining to empowering the State government to appoint the V-Cs instead of the Governor. One of the Bills is also related to renaming the State Fisheries University after former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.