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After warm start, CM-guv relation took ugly turn
As the governor began the customary address, a group of legislators —from the Congress and the VCK, both allies of the ruling DMK — started raising slogans, calling for his ouster.
The first day of the Tamil Nadu assembly session on Monday saw unprecedented scenes when Governor RN Ravi walked out of the House following chief minister MK Stalin moving a resolution to expunge, from records, whatever the governor spoke outside the government-prepared address.
As the governor began the customary address, a group of legislators —from the Congress and the VCK, both allies of the ruling DMK — started raising slogans, calling for his ouster.
Ravi spoke of the government’s handling of floods, its schemes, financial investments but also omitted portions from the 48-page speech with references to the DMK’s governance — which the ruling party named as the Dravidian model — and also skipped to name stalwart Dravidian leaders’ contributions to the state’s development.
This led to unprecedented scenes inside the House where chief minister Stalin moved the resolution to record only the printed speech of the governor, saying his deviation from the government-prepared speech was against the principles of the legislative assembly. Even as Stalin was speaking, Ravi got up from his seat and walked out.
The relationship between the CM and the governor began cordially after Ravi took charge on September 18, 2021. But they have struggled to maintain it.
“It is he who threw the first stone,” said speaker M Appavu on Monday, blaming the governor for creating problems to the state government, drawing a parallel with similar tussle between Raj Bhavan and the government in several non-BJP ruled states.
The starting point of the strained relationship was over the governor’s delay in forwarding Tamil Nadu’s Bill to abolish NEET to the President for assent in 2021. After sending the Bill back to the House, it was again sent to the governor, who forwarded it to the President last May. At present, 20 bills are pending with the Governor.
Citing this, MPs of the secular progressive alliance led by the DMK wrote to the President last November to remove Ravi from the gubernatorial role, saying he has failed in his duties. The alliance accuse Ravi of furthering the BjP’s Hindutva agenda.
The governor has been equally vocal in his criticism of the government, with recently terming the Dravidian politics as “regressive” and that it would be appropriate to rename the state as “Tamizhagam”.
