Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan on Sunday slammed Governor RN Ravi’s decision of not addressing the recent session of the Assembly as “childish” and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin termed it as “childish”. “This kind of arrogance is not good.”
Tamil Nadu’s DMK government and Raj Bhavan have been at loggerheads since the Governor walked out of the Assembly on January 6 in protest against not singing the national anthem at the beginning of his address. As per tradition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the state anthem Tamil Thai Valthu is sung at the beginning of the House sitting and the national anthem is sung at the end. However, Governor Ravi has objected to this rule and said that the national anthem should be sung both the times.
Raj Bhavan said in a statement after the Governor’s walkout, “Today once again the Constitution of India and the national anthem were insulted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Respecting the national anthem is the first fundamental duty enshrined in our Constitution. It should be introduced in all state assemblies and At the end, only Tamil Valathu was sung in the House. The Governor respectfully reminded the House of its constitutional duty and appealed to the Honorable Chief Minister, who is the leader of the House, to sing. He stubbornly refused. Not wanting to indulge in such brazen disrespect towards the Constitution and the national anthem, the Governor left the House.
Thiru @mkstalin asserts that insisting on due respect to the National Anthem and doing fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution is “absurd” and “childish”. Thanks for betraying the true intentions of the coalition of interests and ideologies to which he is a leader that…
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) January 12, 2025
Soon after, Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a post on Instagram, said the Governor had made a tradition of violating the assembly’s tradition and called his actions “childish”. He wrote, “As per the Constitution, it is a tradition of legislative democracy for the Governor of the state to read the Government’s address at the beginning of the year! He has made it his tradition to violate it. It is childish that he went without reading it this time. ”
The DMK chief said in the House yesterday, “The Governor comes to the Assembly, but returns without addressing the House. That’s why I said his actions were childish. I think the Governor is unable to digest the fact that Tamil Nadu is developing. I may be a common man, but this assembly has come into existence because of the feelings of crores of people. Such things will not be seen again.
Since when is there dispute?
Hitting back, the official handle of Raj Bhavan posted on Twitter today, “Thiru @MKStalin’s claim that insisting on due respect to the National Anthem and performing fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution is “absurd” and “childish”. Arrogance is not good. Please do not forget that India is the supreme mother and the Constitution is the supreme faith for her children. They will not like or tolerate such shameless insult. Governor Ravi and the MK Stalin government have had a sour relationship since it assumed power in 2021. The DMK government has accused him of acting like a BJP spokesperson and blocking bills and appointments. The Governor has said that the Constitution gives him the right to withhold his assent to any law. The dispute between Raj Bhavan and the state government has even reached the Supreme Court and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
