Touching upon an important constitutional issue, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M Appavu has suggested that the President should give reasons when he withholds assent and returns the Bills passed by a State Assembly when they were sent to him for assent. Speaking on ‘Responsibility of Presiding officers towards Constitution, House and People at the 82nd All India Presiding Officers Conference in Shimla on November 17 and 18, he said only if the President spelled out the reasons for returning the Bill, the Assembly which enacted the Bill would know the real impediment in the Bill. This is an important Constitutional issue and he raised it for the consideration of this august gathering, he said. “When a Bill passed by the State is reserved for the consideration of the President, and if the President withholds the assent and returns the Bill, should not the President give reasons for such return?”, Mr Appavu asked. How else will the House that enacted the Bill know what was the real impediment in withholding the assent, he further wanted to know. “If the House knows the reasons, may be it can enact another Bill, correcting the shortfalls that caused the President to withhold the assent,” he reasoned. “Since the House reflects the will of the people, withholding assent to a Bill amounts to rejection of the will of the people of that State,” he said. Therefore, the people are entitled to know at least the reason for which the Bill was not assented to, he said. Mr Appavu also addressed another important issue of Governors sitting over the Bill without giving assent for an indefinite period or returning the Bill late. This is another important issue facing the State Legislatures, Mr Appavu said and questioned the logic behind Governors withholding the Bills or not returning the Bills for indefinite period. “When a Bill passed by majority and sent for the assent of the Governor, the Governors sometimes sit over the Bill without giving his assent or returning the Bill for an indefinite period, even though the Constitution requires it to be done as soon as possible,” he pointed out. Similarly, when a Bill required to be reserved for the consideration of the President, “the Governors are taking months together to reserve the Bills for the assent of the President, even though they are bound to do so immediately. This erodes the authority of the Legislatures”, he said. The Speaker’s remarks assumed significance as the former Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit held back for long, assent to a…