NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu witnessed a clash between chief minister MK Stalin and governor RN Ravi during the inaugural session of the assembly on Monday. Governor Ravi walked out without giving his usual address, citing a breach of Constitutional protocol and lack of respect for the National Anthem. Stalin called the move “childish” and indicative of the governor’s disregard for his constitutional responsibilities.
Governor Ravi’s actions stemmed from the omission of the National Anthem at the beginning of the session, with only the Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu, the state anthem, being sung. In a statement, Raj Bhavan said, “The Bharat Constitution and the National Anthem were once again insulted today in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Respecting the National Anthem is one of the first fundamental duties enshrined in our Constitution.”
The governor urged Prime Minister Stalin and President M. Appavu to ensure that the national anthem was sung, but they “stubbornly refused”, prompting his departure in “deep anguish”.
Also read: Governor RN Ravi leaves the House for “blatant disrespect” to the national anthem and the Constitution
Chief Minister Stalin, in a scathing response on social media, accused the governor of undermining democratic traditions. “According to the Constitution, it is a tradition of legislative democracy that the governor of the state reads the government’s speech at the beginning of the year! He has the habit of violating it. It is childish that the governor, who has cut what was there and added what he was not there, this time he did not read it,” Stalin published in X.
He further criticized Ravi for his repeated refusal to perform his constitutional duties and said, “Why should someone who is unwilling to perform his political and legal duties remain in office?”
Discord between the governor and the state government has been a recurring theme, with Stalin alleging that Ravi has a history of altering or omitting parts of speeches prepared by the government in previous sessions.
House Leader Duraimurugan echoed Stalin’s sentiments, pointing out that the practice in Tamil Nadu is to play the National Anthem at the end of the Governor’s speech, not before. “But again today, the governor pointed out that this was a problem. He did not read the direction he sent to the government. His true intentions are unknown,” Duraimurugan told news agency ANI.
AIADMK members disrupted the proceedings, demanding action on a sexual assault case at Anna University, while Congress members staged a walkout, accusing the Governor of acting against the interests of Tamil Nadu. Marshalls had to intervene to expel the AIADMK legislators from the House.
The BJP and PMK also joined the protests, abandoning themselves over the handling of the Anna University case. DMK allies accused the Governor of trying to derail the Assembly session and diminish the authority of the state government.