CHENNAI: History repeated itself in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday as Governor RN Ravi refused to deliver the customary address and walked out of the House without uttering a single word.
Citing the non-rendering of the National Anthem before the commencement of proceedings, the Governor declined to read the address prepared by the State government. Despite two requests from Speaker M Appavu to adhere to constitutional provisions and deliver the address, the Governor refused and exited the Assembly hall.
Following this, the Speaker ruled that the press and media should not publish the exchange that took place between him and the Governor on the floor of the House.
Subsequently, Chief Minister MK Stalin moved a resolution for the address to be read out by the Speaker. Stalin said that as per Article 176 of the Constitution, the Governor is constitutionally bound to read the address prepared by the elected government and that there was no scope for expressing personal opinions during the customary speech.
“The Governor has acted against the protocol and the rules of the Assembly by walking out of the House,” the Chief Minister said. Quoting Article 176, he said the Governor was not expected to offer clarifications or objections to the address, even if the government had responded to queries raised earlier.
Recalling a similar incident in 2023, Stalin said the Governor had acted in the same manner in previous years as well. “It is unfortunate that such a situation has been repeated,” he said.
Alleging that the Governor was indulging in politics and attempting to paralyse the governance of the State, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday said such conduct was unacceptable on the floor of the Assembly.
Participating in the discussion after the Governor walked out of the House, the Chief Minister said the Governor had been repeatedly making political statements. “Even if it is his personal wish to speak politics, it cannot be done in a forum like the Assembly,” he said.
“I have a responsibility to safeguard the dignity of the Assembly, which represents the aspirations of our people. Therefore, I moved a resolution to relax Rule 17,” Stalin said.
Following this, the House adopted a resolution moved by the Chief Minister to ensure that only the address prepared by the State government would form part of the official Assembly records. The statements made by the Governor in the House were excluded from the records.
The resolution was adopted by voice vote, Speaker M Appavu read out the full Tamil version of the Governor’s address in the House.