President Murmu’s reference to Supreme Court falls within her Constitutional rights: Annamalai

President Murmu’s reference to Supreme Court falls within her Constitutional rights, says Annamalai

BJP leader and former president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit K. Annamalai on Friday (May 16, 2025) said that President Droupadi Murmu’s reference to the Supreme Court, seeking its opinion on the assent of Bills passed by State legislatures, are within her rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Interacting with mediapersons in Tiruvannamalai, Mr. Annamalai said that under Article 143 (1) of the Constitution, the President can clear her doubts with the Supreme Court on its rulings. The reference made by the President to the Supreme Court is the 15th such reference made by Presidents to the highest court of the country since 1950 when the Constitution came into existence.

“Apart from Governors, the Supreme Court, in its ruling, said that the President too should fix deadlines to give assent to Bills passed by State legislatures. This has made President Ms. Murmu seek clarity on the issue,” he said.

Further elaborating on the issue, Mr. Annamalai said that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) had directed Karnataka to release 205 tmc of water to Tamil Nadu in 1991. It was opposed by the then Karnataka Chief Minister Sarekoppa Bangarappa, who brought a resolution against it, and it was passed by the State Assembly then. “When the then President R. Venkataraman sought the Supreme Court’s opinion on it, the court ruled in favour of Tamil Nadu to release its share of water. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin should understand these realities and take a balanced view,” he said.

When asked whether ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee coordinator O. Panneerselvam is still in National Democratic Allaince (NDA), Mr. Annamalai said that the BJP has not left any political party out of the alliance in Tamil Nadu. “OPS is always with us [NDA]. No political party has left the alliance. The previous visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu was for a different purpose,” he quipped, when asked about Mr. Panneerselvam being denied an invitation during Mr. Shah’s visit to the State.