TN assembly passes resolution rejecting governor Ravi's remarks on Siddha bill

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution moved by chief minister M K Stalin rejecting the remarks of governor R N Ravi on the Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical University Bill, 2025.AIADMK and BJP MLAs remained silent when the resolution was put to voice vote.“The assembly rejects the remarks of the governor and the portions containing the word that lowers the dignity of the house in his message on the bill,” said the resolution read out by the CM. The resolution categorically rejected the remarks of the governor.

The CM said since it was a Finance Bill, it required the recommendation of the governor under Article 207 (3) of the Constitution for the consideration of the House.

The bill was drafted by the health department after extensive consultations, vetted by the law department, and reviewed at multiple stages before being forwarded to the governor.However, instead of following the established constitutional procedure, Ravi returned the bill with certain remarks and asked that his views be conveyed to the assembly. “This is against the Constitution and rules of the House,” Stalin said.

“The governor has no authority to express his opinion on a bill before it is passed. Only elected representatives are empowered to propose amendments. So, this House cannot accept the remarks of the governor,” Stalin said, amid loud thumping from the treasury benches.The CM also objected to the governor’s use of the term “appropriate consideration” in his message instead of “consideration”. “Using the term ‘appropriate consideration’ implying that the assembly would otherwise give inappropriate consideration, lowers the dignity of this assembly and hence unacceptable,” Stalin said.He said the authority to make laws rests solely with the assembly. “No member who values state autonomy would endorse the inclusion of such remarks in the House records. So, I don’t want to record those remarks here,’’ he said, appealing to the members of the House to support the resolution.After the resolution was passed, the bill was introduced by the health minister. The original bill was first passed in the assembly in April 2022 to establish Siddha University with the CM as its chancellor. This bill was withdrawn by the govt early this year and a fresh bill was drafted and sent to the governor.