Speech Of Hon. Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly At The 10th CPA Region Conference Held At New Delhi

Respected Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha and Chairman, CPA India Region, Respected Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Hon. Speakers, Hon. Chairmen, Hon. Deputy Speakers, Hon. Deputy Chairmen, Secretary General, Lok Sabha and Secretaries of State Legislatures and Councils, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to speak a few words. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly traces its origin to the year 1921 when the Madras Legislative Council was set up in then Madras Presidency comprising the present states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and parts of Odisha states and played a significant role in Indian Democracy. At that time, the legislative bodies in India which could enact laws were functioning only in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

England is referred to as the cradle of democracy. The artistic Chair of the Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly that adorns the elegance of the House was presented by His Excellency, Lord Willingdon, the Governor of Madras Presidency and his wife Lady Willingdon to the President of Madras Legislative Council as a personal gift during an interesting ceremony held on 6th March 1922. Although the Chair is more than a century old, it has not lost its luster and remains a symbol of a vibrant democracy.

I have the privilege to sit in this Chair and conduct the proceedings of the House, which is a great gift of the democracy to a common man like me. I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to our leader Thiru M.K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. In the last century, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed many pioneering Acts and resolutions that have paved the way for development in India. The then Madras Legislative Council had passed on 01.04.1921 an historic Act giving women the first time the right to vote in India. It was the first elected body in the Indian legislative history to legislate on reservations, which have since become standard policy in India. Upholding democracy and fulfilling the will of the people is the prime duty of legislative and parliamentary bodies. Legislature/Parliaments are responsible for enacting laws, framing policies, generating revenue, alleviating poverty, overseeing administration, and making good plans for future generations.

The role of the Speaker is to ensure that the mandate of the people is fulfilled through their representatives i.e., Members of the Assembly. Articles 105 and 194 of the Constitution of India provide the powers, special rights, privileges and immunities to the Members of Parliament and State Legislatures. These constitutional rights and privileges should be maintained and protected. But recent events have caused great pain to the democracy. Of late, the State Legislatures were unable to enact Acts which were not only passed by a majority of the members, but also unanimously voted by the Assembly. Since some Bills passed in the Assembly are stalled by the Governor’s Office for years without any reason, the representatives of the people are not in a position to fulfill the wishes of the people and thus face their displeasure. Insulting the Assembly means insulting the people who elected the members of that Assembly.

At this point, I would like to mention that the Hon’ble President gives his assent to bills that are passed in the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha within a couple of hours even in a situation where entire opposition members were expelled. But in some states, Governors do not give assent even to bills that are passed unanimously by the Assembly. In this regard, a system should be created that Governors should follow the President in giving assent to the bills, as soon as possible, thereby upholding the constitutional provisions. Only then, the confusion caused by the intervention of Governors in states ruled by the opposition parties could be avoided.

It is with great pain that I would like to record something that has directly affected the wishes and welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu. Bills that were passed in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly with the unanimous support of all party members was withheld by the Hon’ble Governor, without assigning any reasons. After taking the issue all the way to the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the bills were passed again in the Assembly and sent to the Governor for his assent. The Governor, who was bound by the Constitutional provisions to give his assent to the Bills took a shortcut and sent it to the President’s Office. The Hon’ble President has also withhold his assent for many of these Bills, without assigning any reason. It may be pertinent to state that these amendment Bills required only the assent of the Governor as the Principal Acts are State Acts which were assented to by the Governor. As a result, the people of Tamil Nadu have been greatly affected and deprived of their wishes as no remedial action can be taken due to reasons not being given. Further, the future of lakhs of Tamil Nadu students is facing major hindrance as the NEET Bill is being tossed between the Governor’s office and the President’s office. In order to resolve such a situation, I reiterate the views expressed by me at the Presiding Officers Conference held at Shimla and Mumbai that a deadline should be set for the Governor to give his assent to the Bills passed by the State Assembly within a specified period.

The tendency of Governors to act against the opinions of the people’s representatives by assuming that they have powers, which they do not have, should be put to an end. It is very painful that the Governors are going back 100 years, when the entire nation is striving hard and moving ahead to create a modern India. Another important thing is about the subjects in the concurrent list. Union Government passes laws, ignoring the sentiments of the people of the states on issues that are in the concurrent list such as education and health. People are greatly affected and show their objections and anger only to the state governments, since it is the state governments that are directly connected with them. The Union Government should only interfere to a limited extent in matters on the concurrent list. Also, reforms should be brought so that the Union Government respects the bills and resolutions passed by the State Assemblies which reflect the wishes of the people of the respective states.

The first hour in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly proceedings i.e., Question Hour is very crucial since it fulfills the demands and expectations of the people from all walks of life. All members are given an opportunity to voice their grievances by allowing numerous supplementary questions.

The participation of opposition members in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has been greatly enhanced due to the use of various devices like Call attention motions and special call attention motions during Zero Hour. The opposition members are given more opportunities than ruling party members in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Our Hon’ble Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. M.K. Stalin desires that this practice be continued as Democracy will thrive only if the views of the Opposition are heard and I sincerely hope other state legislatures and parliament will emulate it. With these few words, I conclude my speech.