Governor should not speak politics, says TN BJP chief Annamalai amid RN Ravi row

While speaking about the Governor’s recent run-ins with the state government and the subsequent reaction of the DMK cadres, Annamalai said the party wants Ravi to reply to each of their questions but it is not his job to do that as he is not a politician.

Annamalai was reacting to the DMK posters at prominent areas of Chennai questioning the Governor’s order, which was later put in abeyance, dismissing Senthil Balaji from the council of ministers.

“Where will it stop if the Governor starts replying to everything? Will the government accept if he (Ravi) meets the media daily and comments on all the issues happening in the state? Definitely, they won’t,” Annamalai said.

When a section of the media pointed out that Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan addresses the media over issues happening in her state and asked why can’t the Tamil Nadu Governor do the same, Annamalai said there would be no one happier than him if the Governor starts speaking to the media as it will bring out more irregularities of the ruling faction. “However, I believe that a Governor shouldn’t be doing that,” he added.

He further said, “A Governor should not speak politics, it will set a wrong precedent. A Governor should do his job. We have seen Governors providing interviews to newspapers once in six months or a year; that is fine. I do not wish to comment on other Governors; each one of them has their own way of functioning. Even if the DMK makes a genuine mistake, there is a difference between a Governor criticising the party and a BJP leader criticising it. A Governor can make his remarks inside the Assembly. If he starts meeting the press on a daily basis like me, then the post will lose dignity.”

On the Mekedatu issue, Annamalai reiterated that the dam project cannot be undertaken without the concurrence of the lower riparian states. He noted that Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka D K Shivakumar doesn’t have the right to say that they will not provide water. “He cannot decide upon the quantity of water that needs to be distributed to Tamil Nadu,” Annamalai said.

The BJP leader also asked why the ruling government has not taken up the issue with the Cauvery Water Management Authority or issued a statement condemning Shivakumar’s statement.

Commenting on the UCC, Annamalai noted that all parties should come forward and support it to unite the country. This comes in the wake of their ally AIADMK reiterating their stand against the implementation of the UCC.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who addressed the media in Chennai on Wednesday after chairing a meeting of the party’s district secretaries, said that their party’s stand on the UCC issue remains the same as mentioned in their 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto.

In 2019, the state’s main Opposition party had noted that the AIADMK would urge the Government of India not to bring any amendment to the Constitution for a Uniform Civil Code which will adversely affect the religious rights of minorities of India.

When asked whether they would continue their alliance with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Edappadi said he has already made his party’s stand clear and added that there is still one year left for the polls and he will inform the media at an appropriate time about the alliance.