Officials should not assist Governor without State approval: Minister Nirmalkumar sharpens standoff over Madurai review

CHENNAI: Government officials should not extend any cooperation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar without the approval of the Tamil Nadu government, State Minister for Energy Resources and Law R Nirmalkumar said on Friday, escalating the confrontation over the Governor’s reported review of government administration in Madurai.

The Minister said the Governor had no authority to review government schemes and asserted that the TVK government would not permit any exercise that, in its view, amounted to interference in the functioning of an elected administration.

“Officials should not cooperate with the Governor without obtaining the State government’s approval. We are conveying this on behalf of the government. When there is a government elected by the people, the Governor has no role in conducting administrative reviews. Such interference will only create unnecessary confusion. The Governor does not possess such powers,” Nirmalkumar told reporters after a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee meeting at the Madurai Collectorate.

His remarks came a day after reports emerged that Governor Arlekar, during his visit to Madurai, had held a review meeting with the District Collector and the City Police Commissioner to assess aspects of government administration. The reported exercise drew criticism from several political parties.

Earlier, while chairing the district coordination meeting along with Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan and Madurai MP S Venkatesan, who heads the committee, Nirmalkumar said the panel would review the implementation of Central and State government schemes, address inter-departmental issues and remove administrative bottlenecks to ensure welfare programmes reached people without delay.

Reiterating the State government’s position, the Minister said only an elected government and elected representatives were empowered to review government programmes within the framework of the law, maintaining that the Governor had no executive authority to undertake such reviews.