Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday accused Governor RN Ravi of having “insulted” the gubernatorial position he holds, by not reading out the speech at the commencement of the Assembly session.
Stalin’s remarks in Tamil Nadu assembly came days after he said his party would seek to amend the Constitution to omit provisions mandating the Governor’s Address to the state legislature at the beginning of the session.
Stalin’s comments came in response to Governor RN Ravi earlier declining to read the state government’s prepared text in the Assembly. The Governor’s office, the Lok Bhavan, claimed there were “inaccuracies” in the address. Governor Ravi walked out of the House without delivering the customary address.
Speaking in assembly on Saturday, Stalin, the DMK chief, said he was constrained to criticise the Governor for his actions, and that many governors that Tamil Nadu has seen in the past were not like Ravi.
“I am facing the crisis that was not witnessed during the tenure of former Chief Ministers CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa…Governor (Ravi) is insulting the position he holds by not reading the speech at the start of the Assembly session and insisting upon playing the national anthem at the start of the Assembly session,” the chief minister said in his reply to the Assembly.
The National Anthem, Stalin said, was always played at the conclusion of the Governor’s speech in TN Assembly and Tamil Thai Vazhthu (Mother Tamil invocation) was played at the commencement.
“We are not inferior to anyone in patriotism, and no one needs to teach us,” Stalin said and added that the crisis was something not new to him. “I have faced numerous challenges in the past and overcame them,” he said.
What sparked the row on Tuesday?
Governor RN Ravi and the DMK-led state government have been at loggerheads for quite some time now. This standoff played out in public again when the Governor walked out of the Assembly on Tuesday at the beginning of the session.
Governor RN Ravi “declined” to read out the DMK government’s customary address in the Assembly, as it had numerous “unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements”, the Lok Bhavan said later.
The Customary Address
While the Assembly, immediately after Ravi walked out of the House, adopted a resolution moved by CM Stalin stating that only the government-prepared customary address would go on the official record, the Lok Bhavan quickly released a statement claiming to provide an explanation of what transpired inside the House.
As per tradition, the Governor of Tamil Nadu reads a speech written by the state government at the start of the Assembly session. Governor Ravi has been objecting to parts of this speech for the numerous “unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements.”
I am facing the crisis that was not witnessed during the tenure of former Chief Ministers CN Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
Tuesday’s row was third such instance when Governor Ravi skipped the customary Assembly address in the assembly.
