CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has written to his counterparts in seven non-BJP governed states and a UT, urging a united legal fight against the Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the power of governors.
The letter was sent on May 17 to CMs of West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab and J&K to oppose the reference sought by the President in the apex court. “We must evolve a coordinated legal strategy before the court and present a united front to preserve and protect the basic structure of the Constitution,” he wrote.
The letter was in response to President Droupadi Murmu invoking Article 143 of the Constitution to seek SC’s opinion on 14 legal questions. While the reference does not name any specific case, Stalin said the move was an attempt to dilute the SC’s ruling in State of Tamil Nadu vs governor of TN case. “This historic judgment, obtained by my govt, is not just a victory for Tamil Nadu but for all states,” Stalin wrote. “It prevents the obstruction of democratically enacted state legislations by governors who are unelected appointees of the Union govt,” he said. The judgment had laid down a timeline for governors to grant assent to state Bills.
Stalin said the Centre ’s attempt to revisit this ruling via the court’s advisory jurisdiction is an “effort to unsettle the judgment” and warned that the move could erode the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution. He said it was the BJP govt which advised the President to seek a reference before the SC, which “pointed to the sinister intent” of BJP.
“BJP is attempting to unsettle this judgment, which can be invoked as a precedent by other states when faced with an obstinate governor,” Stalin wrote, adding he was hopeful of an immediate and personal intervention of the eight CMs on the issue.
The letter was sent on May 17 to CMs of West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab and J&K to oppose the reference sought by the President in the apex court. “We must evolve a coordinated legal strategy before the court and present a united front to preserve and protect the basic structure of the Constitution,” he wrote.
The letter was in response to President Droupadi Murmu invoking Article 143 of the Constitution to seek SC’s opinion on 14 legal questions. While the reference does not name any specific case, Stalin said the move was an attempt to dilute the SC’s ruling in State of Tamil Nadu vs governor of TN case. “This historic judgment, obtained by my govt, is not just a victory for Tamil Nadu but for all states,” Stalin wrote. “It prevents the obstruction of democratically enacted state legislations by governors who are unelected appointees of the Union govt,” he said. The judgment had laid down a timeline for governors to grant assent to state Bills.
Stalin said the Centre ’s attempt to revisit this ruling via the court’s advisory jurisdiction is an “effort to unsettle the judgment” and warned that the move could erode the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution. He said it was the BJP govt which advised the President to seek a reference before the SC, which “pointed to the sinister intent” of BJP.
“BJP is attempting to unsettle this judgment, which can be invoked as a precedent by other states when faced with an obstinate governor,” Stalin wrote, adding he was hopeful of an immediate and personal intervention of the eight CMs on the issue.
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