WITHIN hours after the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution moved by the Chief Minister MK Stalin urging the union government and the president to immediately issue appropriate instructions to Governor RN Ravi to give assent to the bills passed by the assembly “within a specific period”, the Tamil Nadu governor granted assent to the re-adopted ‘Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022.’

It is interesting to note that only last Thursday (April 6), Governor RN Ravi said during an interaction with civil service aspirants at Raj Bhavan that, “if a governor withholds assent to a bill passed by the assembly, it means the ‘bill is dead’”.

While welcoming the governor’s swift act of giving assent to the Online Gaming Bill, CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan stated in a statement that the governor is now in a situation where he has to explain why he delayed giving his assent till now. He also urged the governor to give his assent to other pending bills as part of his constitutional duties. Additionally, he thanked the government of Tamil Nadu, various political parties, movements, as well as the people of the state and the media for their unwavering fight in making this Bill into an Act.

While moving the resolution in the assembly, the Chief Minister MK Stalin also strongly advocated for amending the Constitution to change the requirement for the laws passed by an 'elected' assembly to obtain assent from a 'nominated' governor. "It goes against the spirit of the Constitution. Let us take the initiative to amend the Constitution," he stated emphatically.

The bill on online games was originally adopted by the assembly on October 19, 2022. However, the governor returned the bill on March 6, 2023, stating that it was ultra vires the Constitution and against the judgments of the courts. When re-introducing the bill on March 23, the chief minister highlighted that the bill was drafted based on the recommendations of a committee led by Justice K Chandru, a retired judge of Madras High Court, and the school education department, in consultation with other stakeholders. The chief minister also emphasised that banning online gambling is a necessary step to prevent the loss of lives caused by this harmful practice, and it is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order and prevent crimes in society.

The chief minister further highlighted that union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur made a statement in parliament on March 21, 2023, stating that states have the power to enact laws banning online gambling under Section 34 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. He also noted that despite several judgments of the Supreme Court stating that a governor should act as a friend and guide to the government elected by the people, Ravi's actions from the very beginning have proven that he is not willing to be a friend of the people of Tamil Nadu. While the chief minister does not want to engage in a dispute with the governor, he categorically stated that if the governor attempts to disrupt the proceedings of the century-old House with political motives, the government will not remain silent spectators.

As usual, the AIADMK members walked out of the House before the resolution was moved, and as expected, two BJP members voted against the resolution. In total, 144 members voted in favour of the resolution put forth by the chief minister.

Prior to this development, the DMK-led Progressive Democratic Front had planned to collectively demonstrate before Raj Bhavan in Chennai on April 12, demanding the governor to give assent to the 22 bills passed earlier by the assembly. However, after news of the governor's assent was received, the DMK-led Front decided to change the programme into a massive public meeting at Saidapet in Chennai on the same evening, where leaders of all the constituent parties would address the gathering.