CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Selvaperunthagai on Tuesday strongly criticised the President’s decision to return the University of Madras Amendment Bill, alleging that it undermines federal principles and contradicts recent Supreme Court rulings affirming the authority of elected State governments.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed the Bill in April 2022, seeking to vest powers relating to the appointment and removal of the Vice-Chancellor with the State government instead of the Governor. The Bill also proposed including the Finance Officer as a member of the Syndicate. After withholding assent for nearly three years, Governor RN Ravi forwarded the Bill to the President. President Droupadi Murmu has now returned it without approval, preventing it from coming into effect.
Selvaperunthagai recalled that the State government had approached the Supreme Court over the delay in the assent of more than 10 Bills. In April 2025, the apex court ruled that Governors cannot indefinitely hold back Bills and must adhere to specific timelines. He also referred to the court’s November 2025 judgment under Article 142, which asserted that executive power lies with the elected State government and rejected dual administrative control, enabling clearance of ten pending Bills.
Calling the President’s decision “a blow to federalism,” the TNCC chief alleged that the move, influenced by the BJP-led Union government, was unjustified. He questioned why Tamil Nadu was denied powers already enjoyed by states such as Gujarat and Telangana, where Vice-Chancellors are appointed by the elected government.
Selvaperunthagai urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to pursue all legal remedies and appealed to political parties to unite in safeguarding Tamil Nadu’s constitutional rights.
Joining the issue, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian criticised the Union government for failing to secure presidential assent for the Chennai University (Amendment) Bill, which empowers the Tamil Nadu government to appoint the Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras.
In a statement, he said the President had returned the Bill to the State government after keeping it pending for nearly two years, despite the Bill being passed in the Assembly on April 25, 2022.
Veerapandian said the Chennai University Bill had been returned to the State without approval because the Union government did not take the necessary steps to ensure assent. He alleged that the delay reflected the BJP-led government's ideological interference in higher education.
He accused the Centre of using Governors to directly control the administration, daily functioning and curriculum of universities, and of appointing those aligned with the RSS ideology as Vice Chancellors. This, he said, was against secularism, State rights, the federal spirit and the Constitution.
He added that the Union government was attempting to enforce the National Education Policy 2020 in Tamil Nadu through Governors and Vice Chancellors appointed under its influence. "The refusal to approve the Bill is part of the BJP government's plan to saffronise educational institutions," he alleged.