Tamil Nadu governor draws flak for Tamizhagam reference in Pongal invite
Ravi last week suggested Tamil Nadu should be renamed Tamizhagam and triggering a sharp response from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi on Tuesday drew fresh flak over the reference to Tamizhagam in the invitation card issued on his behalf for Pongal celebrations a day after he skipped key portions of the speech at the inauguration of the assembly session. He later walked out of the assembly when chief minister MK Stalin moved a resolution against the deviation from government’s draft for the address.
Ravi has been described as Tamizhagam governor in the invitation, which carries the national emblem this year in place of that of Tamil Nadu. He last week suggested Tamil Nadu should be renamed Tamizhagam and triggering a sharp response from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) justified the suggestion, saying the landmass of the state has been referred to as both Tamizhagam and Tamil Nadu in Tamil literature.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M), a constituent of the DMK-led ruling alliance, demanded Ravi’s removal over the omission of the state’s emblem from the invitation. “He refused to use it because Tamil Nadu is written on our emblem,” said S Venkatesan of the CPI(M). “He should be expelled.” S Venkatesan also tweeted the invite from the governor’s house.
There was no immediate response from Ravi’s office
The DMK has been at loggerheads with the BJP over issues such as federalism. It has insisted on using the term Union government as mandated in the Constitution instead of calling it the Centre or Central government, which indicates that all power resides with it. When directly translated into Tamil, the party calls it ondriya arasu.
In an address to civil service aspirants on Tuesday, Ravi said he is fine with the usage of the Union government, but he finds the Tamil term ondriya politically problematic. “Ondriyam refers to a sub-district level administrative unit in local governance. The intention seems to belittle the government of India.”
“GetOutRavi” posters were put up across Chennai while the same hashtag was trending on Twitter on Monday when Ravi omitted references to the Dravidian model of governance and to leaders such as BR Ambedkar, ‘Periyar’ E V Ramaswamy, CN Annadurai, and Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi).
He skipped the 65th paragraph of the speech, which said the government is founded on the ideals of social justice, self-respect, inclusive growth, equality, women empowerment, secularism, and compassion towards all. He also omitted portions of the 12th paragraph about the state taking all necessary measures to ensure that it continues to be a haven of peace and tranquillity, free from any form of violence.
There has been a near-complete breakdown in relations between Ravi and the state government.
Ravi, who has described the 50-year rule of Dravidian parties in the state as “regressive”, on Monday left the assembly before the national anthem was played.
Earlier, when Ravi began his address, lawmakers of Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Left parties disrupted his speech. They raised slogans against Ravi for suggesting the state’s renaming.