DMK ups ante against Governor in Parliament

CHENNAI: DMK Parliamentary party leader TR Baalu on Monday issued a notice for calling a special attention motion in the Lok Sabha against Ravi for “not assenting the bills passed by the state Legislature of Tamil Nadu or forwarding list III bills to the President for his assent.”

“The Governor of Tamil Nadu is defying the duties and responsibilities conferred under Article 200 of the Constitution and creating a Constitutional deadlock,” Baalu said in his notice issued to the Lok Sabha secretariat. MPs of the DMK led by Baalu raised slogans demanding the recall of Governor Ravi before walking out of the lower house of the Parliament.

Last week, DMK MP P Wilson had moved a private member’s bill in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to amend Article 200 of the Constitution to fix a definite time frame for Governors to give assent, reject or reserve Bills for the President’s consideration. The DMK had demanded the recall of the Governor in February last after the Governor returned the NEET exemption bill for reconsideration in the House.

The issue had echoed in Tamil Nadu Assembly then after state Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had raised the issue of pendency of bills in the Raj Bhavan.

The ruling DMK did not hold back its frustration against the Governor by merely raising the issue. DMK party organ Murasoli had published a damning editorial criticizing Ravi’s confrontation with the state government.

Governor Ravi was in news a few days ago when he had declared that the country was marching towards Ram Rajya as dreamed by Mahatma Gandhi, a comment which did not go down well with the liberal constituency in the state.