The NDA government’s oft-repeated claim of ‘Team India’ spirit flies in its face as constitutional positions have been turned into political tools to target the non-BJP governments. The cooperative federalism model is sought to be undermined through vengefulness and non-cooperation. The role of governors is particularly coming under scanner because of their partisan approach. The tussle between the State governments and the Governors, be it in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal or Punjab, has been intensifying over a plethora of issues including the unnecessary intervention of the Governors in the day-to-day administration and deliberate delays on their part to give assent to the bills. Even in Arunachal Pradesh when the state had Congress government there was intense battle between Raj Bhawan and government. Many had alleged that then Governor JP Rajkhowa played an important role in bringing down the Nabam Tuki led Congress government of that time.
In this context, the Tamil Nadu Assembly urging the Centre and President to fix a timeframe for state Governors to approve Bills adopted by the House is a welcome move. This would help in the smooth implementation of the policies and programmes of the state governments. Like Telangana, Tamil Nadu too has been facing obstacles to its development path because several Bills have been awaiting the assent of its Governor RN Ravi, prompting Chief Minister MK Stalin to accuse him of being more faithful to the BJP leadership than the Constitution. Though the Constitution does not prescribe a time limit for Governors to approve, withhold assent or reserve Bills for the consideration of the President, courtesy and conventions demand that they be cleared swiftly so that the functioning of the executive is not adversely affected.