Governor walkout from T.N Assembly: Minister Sivasankar demands apology from R.N. Ravi

S.S. Sivasankar. File
| Photo Credit: K.V. Srinivasan

Tamil Nadu Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar on Monday (January 6, 2025) said Governor R.N. Ravi should apologise to the people of the State for “insulting the Tamil Nadu Assembly.”

Earlier in the day, the Governor had left the State Assembly without delivering his customary address to the House. His complaint was that the national anthem was not played after the Tamil Thai Vazhthu.

The Minister said Mr. Ravi, who continued to occupy the Governor’s post “even after his tenure was over,” should feel ashamed and quit. “It is he (Mr. Ravi) who walked out of the Assembly before the national anthem was played. Last year, he did the same. With his behaviour, he has insulted the national anthem,” Mr. Sivasankar told journalists at the Secretariat in Chennai.

Pointing out that freedom fighters had once occupied the post of Governors and Chief Ministers, he said none of them had demanded that the national anthem be played at the beginning of the Governor’s address. He felt the only objective of Mr. Ravi was to suppress the achievements of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu.

‘Governor has not right to teach DMK about patriotism’

“The Governor behaves as though he is a great patriot. The DMK is not inferior to anyone when it comes to patriotism. Mr. Ravi has no right to teach the DMK about patriotism. Whether it was the Indo-China war or the Kargil war, the DMK contributed funds and outdid other States. Even today’s (Governor’s) address ends with Bharathiyar’s line, Vaazhiya Bharatha Manithiru Nadu,” he said.

The Minister pointed out even during the erstwhile AIADMK rule, the national anthem was played only at the end of the Governor address.

“We follow the tradition of playing Tamil Thai Vazhthu in the beginning (of the address) and the national anthem at the end. Even today, the national anthem was played, and the entire House, including the Chief Minister, accorded their respect to it. The people of Tamil Nadu have never insulted the national anthem,” he said.

Mr. Sivasankar said the Governor should express his regret for “enacting a drama” on the false pretext of not playing the national anthem in the beginning.

‘People want Governor to exit T.N.’

“The Governor is being neglected by the people of Tamil Nadu because of his activities. He acts as though he is superior to an elected government, forgetting the fact that he has been nominated by the Centre. He has created a situation wherein the people are demanding his exit from Tamil Nadu. He should apologise for having insulted the Assembly,” Mr. Sivasankar further said.

The Minister said the Governor should feel ashamed for continuing in the post “even though his tenure was over and had not been extended.” According to Mr. Sivasankar, “He (Governor) is sticking to the post even though there is no communication from the President or Prime Minister about his continuation. He should feel ashamed and quit the Governor’s post. Only his quitting will honour him and his IPS rank (Mr. Ravi is a former IPS officer),” he said.