Governor went against Constitution & Assembly rules: TN to President

Stalin is believed to have urged Murmu to advise the Governor to 'act in accordance with the Constitution'

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday asked President Droupadi Murmu to advise Governor R N Ravi to exercise his duty by acting on the guidance and advice of the Council of Ministers as enshrined in the Constitution. He also told the President to counsel Ravi to ensure that he doesn’t go against the convention and work for Tamil Nadu and its people.

In his letter to Murmu, which was handed over to her by Law Minister S Regupathy in New Delhi on Thursday, Stalin explained in detail the happenings in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on January 9 when the Governor deviated from the text prepared by the government and added a few portions on his own.

The government issued a statement late Thursday night giving a sneak preview of the contents of the letter. In the letter, the statement said, the Chief Minister recalled that the Governor deviated from the same speech that he approved on January 7.

“Since the Governor’s actions were against the convention of the Tamil Nadu Assembly and since he skipped mentioned the names of stalwarts, the Chief Minister brought a resolution in the Assembly to put on record the portions left out by the Governor,” the statement said.

The CM also complained that the Governor was involved in an ideological collision with the government and the ideals of social justice, equality, rationalism, and self-respect that people of Tamil Nadu identify themselves with seems “unacceptable” for him. “His action on the first day of the Assembly on January 9 is seen as an extension of his thinking,” the CM said, according to the statement.

The governor cannot add any portions to the speech or skip from it on his own, but Ravi skipped several points from the text prepared by the government. “He also avoided from mentioning the names of E V R Periyar, Dr B R Ambedkar, K Kamaraj, C N Annadurai, and M Karunanidhi. By doing this, we believe he has questioned the social structure and ideology that is dear to the people of Tamil Nadu,” the CM said.

Stalin also raised the issue of Ravi not giving his assent to bills approved by the legislature.

The delegation, which also included DMK MPs T R Baalu, A Raja, P Wilson, and N R Elango, apprised Murmu of the happenings in the Assembly on January 9 when the Governor walked out of the Assembly in a huff after Stalin moved a resolution to take on record only the approved text.

The President, Baalu said, told the delegation that she will look into the matter. This is the second time in recent months that the DMK has complained against Ravi to the President. In November, the party demanded his recall over controversial statements.

Baalu also said the DMK will raise the issue in Parliament when it convenes and tore into the government for going against the Rules of Procedure of the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The governor’s action only opened yet another front with the DMK with which he is already involved in a running battle over a host of issues.

Meanwhile, Governor Ravi is expected to leave for New Delhi on January 13, but his itinerary isn’t available.