SC judgement on TN bills to strengthen struggle against 'authoritarianism': CPIM

New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) The CPI(M) on Tuesday welcomed a Supreme Court judgement setting aside the Tamil Nadu governor's decision to withhold assent to bills passed by the state assembly and said the order will strengthen the struggle against "authoritarianism".

The top court's judgement also helps in strengthening the federal principles enshrined in the Constitution, the party's Politburo said in a statement.

In a major victory for the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court cleared 10 bills that were stalled and reserved by Governor R N Ravi for the President's consideration and also set a timeline ranging from a month to three months for all governors to act on bills passed by state assemblies.

"The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) welcomes the landmark judgement of the Supreme Court setting aside the Tamil Nadu governor's decision to withhold assent to the bills passed by the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly. The court declared that the 10 legislations withheld by the governor will now become laws," the CPI(M) said in a statement.

The Left party pointed out that the top court termed the governor's actions "illegal and arbitrary".

"This is a historic judgement as it came down against the actions of many governors of opposition-ruled states who are acting in violation of the federal principles enshrined in the Constitution," the statement said.

"The verdict will now set a precedent for all the states, including Kerala, where the governors (have) withheld assent to the legislations passed by the state assemblies. The CPI(M) welcomes the judgement that helps in strengthening the federal principles enshrined in our Constitution.

"The Supreme Court judgement will strengthen the struggle against authoritarianism and for the protection of the rights of state governments," it added.

In another statement, the CPI(M)'s Politburo condemned the increase in the price of gas cylinders and the imposition of special excise duty on petrol and diesel.

On Monday, LPG price was hiked by a steep Rs 50 per cylinder across India and CNG by Re 1 per kg, while the government raised taxes on petrol and diesel to shore up its revenues.

"The Union government announced a Rs 50 hike in the price of gas cylinders for both general and subsidised categories, burdening the people by around Rs 7,000 crore. Further, the government increased the special excise duty of petrol and diesel to the tune of Rs 32,000 crore," the CPI(M) said.

The rise in gas prices is bound to have a crippling effect on people who are already burdened due to inflation, it said.

Instead of passing the benefits of falling international prices of oil and gas to the people, the government is imposing additional burden. In the name of special excise duty, it wants to accrue all revenue for itself, violating the federal principles, the party alleged.

"The CPI(M) demands that the government immediately roll back the prices and calls upon all its units to protest against this decision of the central government," the statement said.

The two statements were issued a day after the CPI(M) elected M A Baby as its general secretary and inducted eight new members into the Politburo. PTI AO DIV DIV

Source: PTI