Tamil Nadu Governor walks out of Legislative Assembly Session
The Governor and Chief Minister were at odds with each other during the first TN Assembly session of the year. The cause of strife was the Governor omitting parts of an address and further issues between the two state leaders
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On January 9, 2023, the Governor of Tamil Nadu R.N. Ravi walked out of the Legislative assembly session – the first session of the year – following objections raised by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin over the former's deliverance of a customary address to the Parliament. R.N Ravi, while delivering a speech prepared by the state government, skipped the sixty-fifth paragraph which included mentions of leaders and the Dravidian model of governance as well as a reference to the management of the law and order in T.N. which stated that the State was a “haven of peace” and was becoming a “forerunner in all sectors.” This was the first time that a Governor chose to skip certain paragraphs. In response to this Chief Minister M.K. Stalin moved a resolution which stated that only the speech prepared by the Government should be recorded, thereby disregarding the address delivered by the Governor. The Assembly assented to this by adopting a resolution by voice vote.
The Governor walked out of the Assembly before the National Anthem was played – this was viewed as an unprecedented occurrence by onlookers and media sources. The party, AIADMK and the BJP party have defended the Governor, describing the events in the House as a “personal attack” on him. According to reports, both sides claim there has been a violation of Assembly traditions. The portion of the speech the Governor skipped also included references to the principles and ideals of individuals like Thanthai Periyar, Annal Ambedkar, Perunthalaivar Kamarajar, Perarignar Anna and Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar.
The issue of deviation from the prepared text was immediately raised. Tamil Nadu Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in his interaction with the media after the Governor’s walkout, touched upon the matter of Presidents having to read out what the Centre had prepared. For instance, on February 8, 1960, then-President Rajendra Prasad made certain corrections in the printed copies of the Hindi and English versions of the address which were received at the Lok Sabha Secretariat, an hour before the commencement of his address to the two Houses of Parliament, according to Practice and Procedure of Parliament by M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher. In his biography titled My Presidential Years, former President, R. Venkataraman mentioned that when he delivered his address to both Houses of Parliament on February 22, 1988, he changed the expression “My government” to “The government” as the original practice was a part of the British legacy.
What led to the face-off?
Within four months of Mr Ravi assuming charge in September 2021, DMK parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu demanded his resignation for not forwarding to the then President Ram Nath Kovind, a Bill, adopted by the Assembly, seeking to exempt government seats in undergraduate medical and dental courses from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). Even though the legislation is now awaiting Presidential assent, there are many other Bills which are awaiting the Governor’s ratification.
Days before the Assembly began its proceedings, the Governor commenced a debate by expressing his preference for the term ‘Tamizhagam’ over ‘Tamil Nadu’ to be used for referring to the State.
Subsequent issues that arose:
An issue that arose was whether any other business could be conducted immediately after the Governor’s address. Going by the interpretation of Kaul and Shakdher, the proceedings related to the Governor’s address cannot be called an official sitting of the Assembly. This is because Rule 17 of the Assembly rules deals with the observance of order before, after and during the address. However, there is a precedent for other proceedings taking place on the day of the Governor’s address. The Tamil Nadu Assembly, on January 23, 2017, adopted a Bill on jallikattu in the evening sitting after the then Governor Vidyasagar Rao made his address to the House in the morning.
In spite of the precedent, Mr Thennarasu, Minister for the Department of Industries, Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archeology Minister said it was the Governor who had created such a situation. The Chief Minister, while moving the motion to dismiss the Governor’s address, referred to the relaxation of Rule 17 of the Assembly Rules.