Bengaluru, Apr 17 (UNI) Karnataka Chief Minister's legal advisor and Congress MLA A S Ponnanna on Thursday accused the BJP of misusing the Governor's office to interfere in the governance of non-BJP ruled states, and indicated that the state government may move the Supreme Court against Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s handling of the Muslim quota Bill.
Drawing a parallel with Tamil Nadu, Ponnanna cited the recent Supreme Court verdict that pulled up Governor RN Ravi for delaying assent to Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
"Wherever there is a non-BJP government, the BJP is working through the Governor's office. This is a very bad precedent. Despite the Supreme Court's clear verdict in the Tamil Nadu case, our Governor's actions remain unacceptable. We are being constrained to move the apex court," he told reporters here.
His remarks was due to Governor Gehlot's decision to reserve for Presidential assent a Bill that seeks to provide four percent reservation to Muslims in government contracts.
Citing constitutional concerns, the Governor contended that religion-based reservation violates Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution.
The Congress has strongly criticised the move, calling it "politically motivated" and a deliberate attempt by the Raj Bhavan to undermine the bill of the elected legislature.
In the Tamil Nadu case, the Supreme Court, in a significant verdict held that Governors must act "as soon as possible" on Bills and cannot indefinitely withhold assent. The court ruled that Governors are bound by constitutional morality and the advice of the Council of Ministers, and firmly stated that a Governor cannot function as a parallel legislature.
The judgment came after the Tamil Nadu Government accused Governor Ravi of obstructing governance by delaying or sitting on multiple Bills, some for over a year.
The matter sparked widespread political outrage, with opposition parties alleging that the BJP is using Governors to derail legislative processes in states governed by non-BJP parties.
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