CHENNAI: The BJP on Tuesday mounted a strong defence of Governor R N Ravi’s decision to walk out of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly without delivering the customary address, accusing the ruling DMK government and the Speaker of violating constitutional norms and undermining democratic institutions.
Senior BJP leader and former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said the controversy was not political but constitutional. “It is the DMK government that is violating the Constitution. The Tamil Nadu government and the Speaker are at fault. The Governor was forced to struggle even to have the National Anthem played. He merely pointed out that in other States, proceedings begin with the National Anthem, and that was his request,” she said.
BJP spokesperson A N S Prasad said Governor Ravi’s refusal to read out what he described as a DMK-drafted address was a principled stand rooted in Article 176 of the Constitution and supported by Supreme Court precedents. “This was not political theatre but an assertion of constitutional propriety,” he said in a statement, alleging that the Governor’s microphone was muted repeatedly during the proceedings. “Silencing the Governor inside the Assembly strikes at the sanctity of constitutional offices and democratic norms,” he added.
Prasad also alleged that the address contained false claims and selective omissions, including on investments, law and order, women’s safety, narcotics abuse, Dalit atrocities, suicides and the state of education. “Ignoring these issues amounts to misleading the Assembly and the public,” he said, claiming that Tamil Nadu had slipped in foreign direct investment rankings and that governance failures were being glossed over.
Meanwhile, former BJP state president K Annamalai escalated the attack on the ruling party, accusing the DMK government of being mired in corruption. Referring to alleged irregularities in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department, he said multiple dossiers had been submitted to the police. “After the cash-for-jobs scam of Rs 888 crore and the bribes-for-contracts scam of Rs 1,020 crore, there is now a bribes-for-transfers scam,” he said.
Annamalai claimed that the Enforcement Directorate had documented evidence of bribes worth Rs 365.87 crore allegedly paid for transfers and postings of government officers. “The Chief Minister is left with two options: either wilful ignorance or complicity. The failure to order an FIR despite available evidence speaks volumes about governance under his watch,” he added.