Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan stated on Tuesday that there were valid reasons for returning three bills to the state government and that she cannot be accused of acting in a biased manner. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan denied the allegations made by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, stating that she acted in a biased manner by returning certain bills passed by the State Legislative Assembly.
A day after the state cabinet alleged that the Centre misused the Governor system to send back the bills, the Governor claimed that she did not send back any bill without a valid reason.
She told reporters on Tuesday that she was "not against anything." "I have clearly given my explanation about each and every bill, and the explanation is sent to the Speaker for tabling in the Assembly so that it is clear why I returned the bills," she said.
It was not without reason, and every bill had a specific rationale for its return, she emphasised. "I can’t be blamed for acting in a biased manner. I am well aware of the situation in Telangana. I have clearly provided clarification and reasons for why I returned those bills," the Governor added.
Her response came a day after the cabinet meeting discussed the three bills sent back by the Governor. The cabinet found fault with the Governor's rejection of the bills passed by the Legislature in a democratic manner. It termed this action a mockery of the public mandate.
"The Centre is playing politics by misusing the office of the Governor," state minister K. T. Rama Rao had told the media after the Cabinet meeting on Monday.
The cabinet decided to once again pass the three bills in the Assembly session, beginning on August 3. Minister K.T. Rama Rao said that once the legislature passes the Bills for the second time, the Governor cannot hold them back and will have to approve them. The three bills are related to Municipal Administration, Panchayat, and Education. "Once the Assembly passes these bills for a second time, the Governor will have to approve them, regardless of her opinion," Minister KTR said, adding that the government elected by the people is supreme.
The three bills which will be passed again by the Assembly are the Telangana State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, the Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, and the Telangana Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill.
The Governor and the KCR government have been at loggerheads over the issue of Bills passed by the Legislature. In April, the state government had moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Governor to make decisions on the bills pending with her.