Tamil Nadu Governor vs DMK On Jailed Minister Is Latest In Series Of Spats

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi's recent clash with the DMK government over jailed state minister V Senthil Balaji is only the latest in a series of run-ins between the two. Chief Minister MK Stalin and Centre-appointed Governor Ravi have earlier clashed on pending bills, Mr Stalin's foreign trips, the Dravidian model of governance, and the latter's remarks on the state's name.

The DMK had in April moved a resolution in the state assembly urging the central government and President Droupadi Murmu to immediately issue appropriate instructions to the Governor to give assent to the bills passed by the Assembly within a specific period of time. The ruling party alleges more than 10 such bills are pending with the Governor. MK Stalin has said the Governor is functioning against the welfare of the people and is "not ready to be a friend of the people."

Shortly after the MK Stalin-led government's offensive, RN Ravi signed off on a proposed law to ban online gambling and to regulate internet games today. The DMK had called him out for not clearing the bill nearly six months since it was passed in the state assembly. A bill seeking to remove him as the Chancellor of state universities is among those pending with Mr Ravi.

The Governor has earlier defended his position, arguing that he has the option to give assent or withhold the Bill passed by the Assembly and that the latter means the "Bill is dead". The Governor said that "withholding" is a "decent language" used for the Bill to get rejected. He also said that the Governor looks into the Bill if it does not "transgress the Constitutional limit" and the state government does not "exceed its competence".

Governor Ravi had earlier this year stirred a debate on the state's name with his remarks on January 4 during an event in Chennai. "Here in Tamil Nadu, a different kind of narrative has been created. Everything that applies to the whole of the country, Tamil Nadu will say no. It has become a habit. So many theses have been written - all false and poor fiction. Truth must prevail. Thamizhagam would be a more appropriate word to call it," he said.

Faced with a massive backlash, he later claimed it was "erroneous and far-fetched" to infer that he had suggested changing the name of the state with his comments on "Tamizhagam" and the Raj Bhavan revered to using the name Tamil Nadu.

Later, in January itself, RN Ravi walked out of the assembly after MK Stalin moved a resolution asking the Speaker to take on record only the speech prepared by the state government, and remove the portions the Governor added to or skipped from the customary address.

The Governor had skipped parts of the address prepared by the state government which had references to secularism, describing Tamil Nadu as a haven of peace, and mention of leaders like Periyar, BR Ambedkar, K Kamaraj, CN Annadurai, and Karunanidhi, after which the Chief Minister moved the resolution. He also did not read the reference to the 'Dravidian model' that the ruling DMK promotes.

In an interview later, RN Ravi termed the DMK's 'Dravidian Model' narrative divisive and outdated, inviting a sharp rebuttal by MK Stalin.

Earlier this month, RN Ravi took a veiled dig at the Chief Minister's nine-day foreign trip, saying investors will not come "just because we ask them or go and have a talk", inviting a sharp retort from the state government which asked him to "stop behaving like a politician."

The Governor has earlier berated linguistic sub-nationalism, claiming India's states are merely administrative units, not reflective of unique cultures and diversity.