Chennai:Continuing turf war between the DMK government and the Raj Bhavan was in full display in the state assembly with Governor RN Ravi staging a walkout after Chief Minister MK Stalin moved a resolution, which in effect was a censure of the gubernatorial occupant. If the walkout by Ravi was the first ever in the history of the Tamil Nadu legislature, the resolution too was a first of its kind.
High drama was witnessed in the House on Monday when the Assembly convened with the customary address of the Governor. Ravi skipped certain portions and left out names of icons of Dravidian politics among others besides the eulogy of the government in his address. A colonial legacy, the governor's address is the policy statement of the government for the year drafted by the government and the governor merely reads it out.
For his part, Ravi has been adopting a confrontational approach debunking the reigning Dravidian ideology and blaming Dravidian rule for 'landing the state into a regressive politics for over 50 years'. His attempt at a counter-narrative, akin to that of the Sangh Parivar, has pitted him against the ruling DMK and its secular alliance.
His recent remark that the state's official name, 'Tamil Nadu', is inappropriate and should instead be 'Thamizhagam', has stirred up a hornet's nest. 'Nadu' in Tamil denotes a country. In the assembly, as soon as Ravi commenced his address, members of the Congress, VCK, MDMK, and other allies of the DMK trooped to the well of the House and shouted slogans: “Long Live Tamil Nadu” and “Our Land is Tamil Nadu”. This was obviously in response to Ravi's remark on the nomenclature.
Upping the ante, Ravi skipped portions and names of the icons of Tamil Nadu like rationalist anti-brahmin leader 'Periyar' EV Ramasamy, Dr BR Ambedkar, DMK founder and late Chief Minister CN Annadurai, Congress Stalwart and late Chief Minister K Kamaraj, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi.
He also left out 'Tamil Nadu remaining a garden of peace', 'social justice', 'Dravidian model', 'equality', 'secularism' and 'communal harmony'. Among the other lines that he skipped included 'Let's fall so that Tamil might survive', a quote from Karunanidhi. On his part, the governor quoted ancient Tamil poet Avvaiyar on how a state should be run and modernist Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi besides a reference to Swami Vivekananda and instead of 'Tamil Nadu government', he said 'This Government'.
Also read: Debunking Dravidian narrative, TN Guv Ravi faces backlash from DMK and allies
Stung by the governor's action, Stalin, waiting for the address to be completed, was on his feet and said, “it is a violation of conventions of the House and a highly regrettable one that the governor did not read out the full text of the address, duly approved by him. Not only is he acting against the Dravidian model, which is unacceptable, but is working against the government's policies.”
Then he piloted the resolution urging to expunge the remarks of the governor which are not part of the text of the address. “Only the address printed and distributed to members of the House should be entered into the assembly records and the extempore remarks of the governor should be expunged,” the resolution read and was passed.
At this, the governor walked out in a huff even before the national anthem was played. Later in the day, Raj Bhavan sources explained that the government had sent the address on January 6 and the governor had requested that certain portions be removed but was told that he could skip them since the text had been sent for print.
The convention is that the House should be adjourned after the Governor's address, yet, the resolution was passed when he was present in the Assembly which is an insult to him, it was pointed out. The reference to Swami Vivekananda was made since January 12 is his birth anniversary and it is not a violation of norms, it was explained.
On portions that were skipped, the sources said the governor had been told of the option to skip them. Further, they were eulogies of the government and contrary to facts. It was also argued whether the Speaker could expunge the remarks of the Governor, a higher Constitutional authority.
The ongoing tussle inevitably reminds a throwback to the 1990s when late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and late Governor M Channa Reddy were at loggerheads. Then too, the governor sat on a bill stripping him of the Chancellorship of Universities. The then Speaker, Sedapatti R Muthiah even convened the session without his customary new year address.
There were protests against him by the AIADMK and his convoy was blocked near Tindivanam. His security was scaled down and officials were issued oral orders not to participate in the governor's functions. A year later, a debate ensued about whether the governor would read the address in toto with the honorific for Jayalalithaa 'Puratchi Thalaivi' (Revolutionary Leader) littered all over the address. Some legal experts maintained that the Governor could skip them as having been read. But, Reddy complied with the script. History seems to repeat itself.
