Chennai, Jan 20 (PTI) In the fourth such instance, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Tuesday walked out of the state assembly without reading his customary address after alleging that the national anthem was insulted, evoking a sharp response from Chief Minister M K Stalin, who dubbed his action as an “insult” to the House and the people of the state.
Stalin, also the DMK president, said his party will work with “like-minded” parties to amend the Constitution to omit provisions mandating the Governor’s Address to the state legislature.
The high drama on the opening day of the year’s first session, which is also expected to be the last before the upcoming assembly polls that are expected to be held in the next four months, started a few minutes after the state anthem in Tamil was rendered in the House.
Beginning in 2023, this was the fourth such consecutive walkout by Ravi, who cited “unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements” for not reading out the policy statement, while Speaker M Appavu requested him to stick to the state-prepared text. As Speaker Appavu began reading out the Tamil version of the state-prepared governor’s address after Ravi left abruptly, the main opposition AIADMK staged a walkout alleging law and order failure, and other opposition parties, including the PMK, followed suit.
In the governor’s address read out by the Speaker, the Tamil Nadu government urged the Centre to withdraw the recently passed VB-G RAM G Act and restore the UPA-era rural employment scheme, MGNREGA.
While the Assembly adopted a resolution moved by Stalin stating that only the government prepared customary address would go on official record after Ravi’s walkout, the Lok Bhavan quickly released a statement claiming to give an explanation of what transpired inside the House.
Alleging that the mic of the Governor was turned off in the assembly, the Lok Bhavan listed 12 other points, all of which were dismissed by the Tamil Nadu government as “baseless and false”. While Ravi had been demanding that the national anthem be played at the commencement of the customary address, the government’s stand is that the Tamil anthem is traditionally played at the beginning, and the national anthem at the end.
Natural Resources Minister S Regupathy, reiterating this practice, said the governor was, however, insistent on the national anthem.
“He did not read out the Governor’s Address but tried to create problems in the House by saying something on his own. Everyone was, however, quiet. Speaker Appavu requested the Governor to stick to the customary address. He, however, walked out,” he said.
Regupathy rejected the governor’s claim that his mic was turned off and termed it a “lie”. Also, he gave a point-by-point rebuttal to all the allegations listed by the Lok Bhavan.
Regupathy said Ravi, who should have been the representative of the Central government, appeared in the House as the representative of the BJP.
After the Governor left the House, Chief Minister Stalin attacked the Governor for “walking out yet again in violation of rules, traditions, and ethos,” and it was unbecoming of the high office Ravi holds. It was an insult to the House and its dignity, he said.
Stalin said it was not good that the Governor refuses every year to read out the government- prepared speech. Governors posing trouble happens in several states, and it does not happen only in Tamil Nadu, he added.
At the beginning of the year, the Governor reading out the government’s policy statement is a practice being followed, and when a governor repeatedly violates such a practice, a question naturally arises “as to why such a rule/practice should exist,” Stalin said.
Hence, the chief minister said his party, the DMK, would make efforts in the Parliament with the support of like-minded parties to drop provisions mandating the Governor’s address at the start of the year from the Constitution by way of an amendment.
It was regrettable that the Governor had repeated his behaviour of walking out of the House, which reflected the sentiments of the 8.5 crore Tamil people, the chief minister added.
“A Governor must be concerned about the state’s welfare, interested in the people’s development, and must speak the truth. He must cooperate with the government, which has come to power with massive public support and a majority, on its decisions.” According to the Lok Bhavan, the Tamil Nadu government’s “claim that the state attracted huge investments to the tune of over (Rs) 12 lakh crores is far from the truth.” The Governor targeted the state on issues including women’s safety, the alleged prevalence of narcotics and drugs, and suicides by the youth.
The Lok Bhavan alleged that atrocities against Dalits and sexual violence against Dalit women were sharply increasing, but it was totally bypassed. It also alleged that there was a decline in standards of education and defunct village panchayats.
Also, it said several thousand temples in the state are without a Board of Trustees and are directly administered by the state government. Asserting that the MSME sectors are under huge stress, the statement alleged that entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu were forced to relocate their enterprises to other states, and the issue is completely ignored. There was widespread discontent among lower-rung employees in almost all sectors, it said, and added:”They are restive and frustrated. There was no mention of ways to address their genuine grievances.” PTI VGN SA
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