Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin urges 8 non-BJP CMs to unite against Centre
Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Sunday wrote to his eight counterparts in non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states, urging them to oppose the Presidential Reference sought by the Union before the Supreme Court.
Stalin sought their cooperation to “evolve a coordinated legal strategy before the court and present a united front”.
Stalin’s letter comes days after President Droupadi Murmu on May 13 put forth 14 questions that deal with the constitutionality and reach of an April 8 judgement by the Supreme Court, setting deadlines for governors and the President for clearing state bills.
The top court’s landmark verdict was based on a plea filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-ruled Tamil Nadu government against governor R N Ravi for sitting on state Bills and forwarding them to the President for consideration.
“The BJP-led Union government is attempting to unsettle this judgement, which can be invoked as a precedent by other States when faced with an obstinate Governor,” Stalin said. “As the first limb of their ploy, the BJP Government has advised the President to seek a reference before the Supreme Court.”
On Sunday, he wrote to chief ministers in Himachal Pradesh (Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu), Jharkhand (Hemant Soren), Jammu & Kashmir (Omar Abdullah), Kerala (Pinarayi Vijayan), Karnataka (Siddaramaiah), Telangana (Revanth Reddy), Punjab (Bhagwant Mann) and West Bengal (Mamata Banerjee).