Margaret Alva, former Union minister who occupied the Raj Bhavans in four states – Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand – today said the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on power of Governors was “much needed” and absolutely “on time”. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, she said, now “should resign and go home” for he would be “persona non grata” in the state.
Mr Ravi withheld assent to MK Stalin government’s 10 bills for three years. The government went to court and the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the Governor’s decision to withhold assent was “illegal” and “arbitrary” and he did not act in ‘good faith”.
Setting aside the decisions of the Governor, the court said the bills shall be “deemed to be cleared” from the date they were presented to the Governor for a second time.
The court also presented a timeline for Governors: A one-month deadline to withhold assent to a Bill and reserve it for the President’s review with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers; when a Bill is reserved without the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, this deadline will be three months; if a Bill is presented to a Governor after reconsideration by the state Assembly, he/she must clear it within a month.
Ms Alva said the court had “stepped-in in time and with a heavy hand” and it was necessary in view of the “atrocious” situation in states like Kerala, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
“For years now, we have watched Raj Bhavans functioning on their own with no regard to constitutional provisions, to legislative procedures and considering themselves — if I may say so — as some kind of dictators in Raj Bhavans,” she said.
“A Governor cannot sit on 10 bills for three years… It is unheard of… The term of the government is five years and assent is withheld for four years,” she said, referring to the rules that provide only four options for Governors – signing off on a bill, raising doubts and concerns, signing off on a bill if the state resolves concerns and presents it for a second time and referring it to the President.
Asked about the judgment setting a precedent and how it would sit if a Congress or opposition government comes to power in the coming years, she said there is no cause to worry.
“I don’t think any of our Governors behaved this way. I had two states with BJP Chief Ministers. But you are supposed to be a friend philosopher and guide of the state government,” she said.
In this context, she also cited the case of Buta Singh, who in 2005, had dismissed the then government in Bihar. “He was told to go. That was the Congress government which told its Governor to go,” added Ms Alva, who for decades, was part of the Congress.
