R N Ravi walks out of TN assembly again; Stalin vows to remove governor address

CHENNAI: Governor R N Ravi set a record of sorts on Tuesday, walking out of the Tamil Nadu assembly for the fourth consecutive year.Taking offence to playing Tamil Thaai Vazhthu (Tamil anthem) instead of the national anthem at the beginning of the session (TN assembly, as a convention, plays the national anthem at the end of the day), Ravi said it was an insult to the national anthem and disregard for a fundamental constitutional duty. Accusing the governor of playing politics, chief minister M K Stalin said DMK would campaign for a constitutional amendment to abolish the governor’s address. Minutes after the governor walked out of the House, Lok Bhavan (previously Raj Bhavan) issued a statement listing 13 reasons for his action and criticised the state govt for failure on various sectors including industries, education and law-and-order.“The governor’s mic was repeatedly switched off, and he was not allowed to speak,” said the press release. “The speech (given by the govt) contains numerous unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements. Several crucial issues troubling the people are ignored,” the statement read. It countered, among other things, the govt’s claim of attracting Rs 12 lakh crore in investments.Ravi was present only for eight minutes before the assembly adopted a resolution moved by chief minister M K Stalin, to take on record only the printed text of the customary address that was sent to the governor earlier. When the governor started speaking about the national anthem instead of delivering the address, speaker M Appavu requested Ravi to follow the custom of reading out the govt’s prepared speech as per Article 176 of the Constitution.Recalling former chief minister C N Annadurai’s famous quote, ‘A goat doesn’t need a beard, and a country doesn’t need a governor’s post,’ Stalin said DMK, along with friendly parties, would strive to abolish the governor’s address. Opposition members of AIADMK, BJP, PMK and DMK allies Congress, VCK, MDMK and Left parties, were present when the governor walked out. The speaker later read out the translated version of the governor’s address which was taken into the assembly records.