Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi concluded his customary address to the Assembly within a mere two minutes, opting not to read the full text prepared by the DMK-led government. The governor’s swift address comes amid an ongoing dispute between the non-BJP-ruled state and the Constitutional head, with accusations of non-approval of bills and a call for his immediate recall. However, recent developments suggest a potential reconciliation between the government and the governor.
Governor Ravi’s short address took place during the first meeting of the year, where he stated, “If I lend my voice, it would amount to Constitutional travesty. I will not read the entire text prepared by the government.” Ravi highlighted his repeated requests to play the National Anthem before and after the session, which have now been conceded.
The DMK, in its defence, justified its tradition of playing the State song before and the National Anthem after the governor’s address. However, it is noteworthy that during the same Assembly session, Governor Ravi was not permitted to conclude his address with the customary “Jai Hind,” drawing objections from the DMK and its allies.
This incident is not the first of its kind. Last year, Governor Ravi skipped portions of the address and requested modifications. He refused to read praises for the DMK’s governance model and objected to references to historical figures like EV Ramaswamy Naicker, Periyar, BR Ambedkar, K Kamaraj, CN Annadurai, and Karunanidhi. Instead, he sought to replace these references with paragraphs of his own choosing. The disagreement escalated to the point where Chief Minister MK Stalin moved a resolution urging the Speaker to accept only the approved text of the speech, leading to Governor Ravi’s walkout from the house.
“My repeated request and advice to show due respect to the national anthem and play it at the beginning and end of the address has been ignored. This address has numerous passages with which I convincingly disagree on factual and moral grounds. I lending my voice to them would constitute a constitutional travesty. Hence, with respect to the house, I conclude my address. Wish this house a productive and healthy discussion for the good of the people,” he said.
The Tamil Nadu assembly speaker M Appavu then began reading the Tamil interpretation of the Governors speech. “Tamil Nadu Government got approval for Governor’s customary address and he was here to read his address. He didn’t read his full speech but I don’t want to blame him. The Governor also said the National Anthem should have been sung. Everyone has many opinions but if we speak everything it won’t be ethical.
This Government, CM, Minister and MLAs will treat the Governor with respect who is on high position irrespective of many different opinions. I am requesting that Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, you speak what you had in your heart. What we have in our heart is Floods and Cyclone have affected. We didn’t get any funds not even paisa. PM care funds have many funds which are unaccountable. Can we ask for 50 thousand crore from PM Care fund? It would be nice if Governor gets it for us” the Speaker said.
In a similar vein, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan recently made headlines by delivering the shortest speech in the history of the state assembly. Khan’s annual address lasted a mere one minute and 18 seconds, during which he only read the first and last paragraphs of the original 62-page address, claiming to have technically fulfilled his obligation.
The latest development in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape suggests a possible thaw in the relationship between the government and the governor, as Speaker M Appavu personally invited Ravi to make the customary address. Despite the ongoing tensions, there is hope that a rapprochement could lead to a more amicable atmosphere in the days to come.
