Tamil Nadu: Governor RN Ravi sparks another row after sending provoking Pongal invite

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi sparked another controversy on Tuesday amid the ongoing row of Tamizhagam versus Tamil Nadu. Ravi sent out pongal invites to the ruling DMK government leaders for celebrating Pongal festival in Governor's House, Raj Bhavan.

The invite is in Tamil language and features only the emblem of the government of India, missing the state government's emblem. The Tamil version of invite reads Tamizhagam while the English version uses Tamil Nadu as the state name.

Ravi's invite is believed to be deliberately provoking the DMK and also giving a start to fresh controversy over the Tamizhagam versus Tamil Nadu row. Earlier on Monday, a ruckus broke in the assembly after he used the word 'Tamizhagam' in his address ended up with him walking out of the assembly.

Dramatic scenes in Tamil Nadu Assembly a day ago

Dramatic scenes unfolded in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday as Governor RN Ravi, in an unprecedented act, walked out on realising that Chief Minister MK Stalin was moving a resolution to strike off his ‘deviations’ from the prepared text of the customary address to the House. The Governor left before proceedings concluded and the national anthem was played.

Mr Ravi incurred the Chief Minister’s disapproval when he left out two paragraphs from his address, which is prepared by the Government and approved by the Governor customarily, at the opening session of the Assembly. Besides, he made some extempore remarks.

What did the Governor skip

The Governor skipped paragraph 65, which read: “Following the principles and ideals of stalwarts like Thanthai Periyar (Dravidar Kazhagam founder), Annal Ambedkar (architect of the Constitution), Perunthalaivar Kamarajar, Perarignar Anna and Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar (all former Chief Ministers), this Government has been delivering the much acclaimed Dravidian model of governance to its people.”

He also skipped a paragraph hailing the Government’s management of law and order as a result of which “Tamil Nadu continues to be a haven of peace and is attracting numerous foreign investments and is becoming a forerunner in all sectors”.

Shortly after Speaker M Appavu read out the Tamil translation of the Governor’s address, the Chief Minister stood up and moved a resolution disapproving of the selective omissions / insertions by Mr Ravi and urging the Speaker to take on record only the printed text of the Governor’s address tabled in the House.

In the two-page resolution, Mr Stalin said the Governor’s act was sad and against the traditions of the Assembly as he had deviated from a text which the Governor himself had approved.

“We conducted ourselves in a manner according full respect to the Governor... but he acted not just against our ideology but also against the Government,” he said.

The Chief Minister urged the Speaker to relax Rule 17 of the House (against disrupting / interrupting before / during / after Governor’s address) and retain only the printed speech in English and the Tamil version read by the Speaker in the House records.