Chennai: Having painted himself into a corner by ridiculing the recent foreign trip of Chief Minister MK Stalin to Singapore and Japan to attract investment, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is at the receiving end with the ruling DMK and its allies accusing him of working against the interest of the state.
While Stalin attack was veiled, remarks from his cabinet colleagues were brutal. His party mouthpiece "Murasoli" joined the chorus. It called Governor a "half-boiled" person for chilling out in his summer camp and giving lectures while the entire country was mourning for the lives lost in the Odisha triple train wreck.
As is his wont, Ravi had said that investors are hard bargainers and visiting them would not be enough to secure investments. “Investors will not come just because we ask them or go and have a talk,” he said at the conference of vice-chancellors, convened by him at Ooty on Monday. The governor also opined that there was a steep decline of educational standards in the state after the Kamaraj years.
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Responding to the governor's criticism, Stalin said, “Tamil Nadu has made great strides in development and growth, but the one holding the highest office in the state refuses to acknowledge this fact. Unable to digest the Dravidian Model of Governance, he is engaged in confusing the people and his intention is to remain in the limelight by dishing out his opinion as criticism. People are very much aware of this and are not worried. Let him continue to do that. It will give us a renewed vigour and make the people understand with more clarity.” The Chief Minister's rebuttal to the Governor was made at a public event in Chennai to inaugurate 500 PHCs.
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While Stalin was restrained, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu slammed him for straying into politics. “The Governor has turned out to be a full-time politician. If it is his desire, he should vacate the Raj Bhavan and take the plunge instead of using it as a springboard. Of late, he is conducting himself as a politician which is highly unbecoming of his high office,” he told the media here. “As Chief Minister of Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi has gone on foreign jaunts hunting for investments. The Governor's criticism appears to be directed against the PM.
Countering Ravi's view on the decline of educational standards, Thennarasu drew attention to the recent NIRF rankings in which Tamil Nadu had come up with flying colours. “Of the best 100 Universities, 22 are in Tamil Nadu, which also boasts of 30 best colleges out of 100,” he pointed out. Health Minister Ma Subramanian also accused the Governor of not being interested in the growth of the state. Marumalarchi DMK (MDMK) chief Vaiko and K Veeramani of the Dravidar Kazhagam, the DMK's ideological mentor, have pounced on the governor for straying in 'forbidden areas'.
