In TN Governor Ravi’s ‘shortest’ address to House, an echo of Kerala counterpart

With Ravi refusing to read parts of the speech citing “disagreements on moral and factual grounds”, Speaker M Appavu read its Tamil translation in entirety which highlighted the M K Stalin government’s achievements and challenges, a call for a caste census and the lack of financial aid from the Centre during the recent floods.

The Speaker also emphasised on the independence of the Assembly and stressed that it was not inferior “to those who follow the path of Savarkar and Godse”.

Ravi’s “walkout” was similar to that of his Kerala counterpart Mohammad Arif Khan, whose address to the Assembly there amid his tussle with the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government over a host of issues lasted less than two minutes. Khan in January had just read out the opening and closing paragraphs of his speech on the state government’s policies.

Ravi too has been at loggerheads with the Stalin government, which moved the Supreme Court in October last year over delay in assent to “re-passed Bills”. The apex court had come down heavily on the Governor, questioning what he had been doing for three years.

Ravi had also triggered controversy after he ordered the dismissal of a minister, Senthil Balaji, who faced action from the ED. He later put the move on hold.

Ravi’s address Monday, which began at 10 am after the Tamil anthem “Tamil Thai Vazuthu”, commenced with the customary greetings for the new year. The Governor invoked revered Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar to outline the government’s vision. However, he cut short his address, saying reading out the passages he disagreed upon would constitute a “constitutional travesty”.

Apart from his “disagreements”, Ravi also complained that the government ignored his repeated requests to play the national anthem before and at the end of the session.

Appavu said despite differences in ideologies and opinions, the Governor, who holds the highest post in the state, is respected by the CM and MLAs. “Our aim is to conduct this session with dignity. However, let me politely inform the Governor: You have spoken your mind. Our concern is the lack of financial aid during the unprecedented floods. The PM CARES fund, with its thousands of crores, remains unaccountable. It would have been beneficial if at least Rs 50,000 crore could have been allocated with your help,” Appavu said.

In a rare moment of unity in the House, MLAs from across party lines, including the Opposition, remained seated until the end of the day’s proceedings.

Ravi’s omission of several names, including B R Ambedkar, from his speech last year had prompted CM Stalin to draft a resolution to replace the Governor’s “aberration-laden” speech with a pre-government approved one. The Governor had skipped portions praising the “Dravida model” government of the DMK and those which had names of leaders like Periyar, former CMs K Kamaraj, C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi.

Following this episode, Stalin had written to President Droupadi Murmu, requesting her to urge Ravi not to go against the constitutional norms and conventions while discharging his duties. The CM charged that Ravi’s personal and ideological beliefs have influenced his decisions and remarks, which, he added, go against the elected state government and its policies.