CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said that by refusing to read the customary address prepared by the state cabinet on February 12, Governor RN Ravi behaved in a manner like using the Assembly to extend his political activities. Taking pride in leading a 75-year-old political party which rose above numerous obstacles in the past, Stalin said, “We have been facing fascism and autocracy at the national level and will not be cowed down by such childish acts (of the governor).”
Stalin levelled these charges while replying to the discussion on the motion that expressed the House’s agony over the governor’s decision to read only the first page by including some phrases on his own in the customary address.
“The governor is bound to read the text in the customary address prepared by the cabinet as it is. But he has acted in a manner that made us believe as if he used this august House to extend his political activities. This is not an insult to us (the ruling party) but to the century-old Assembly and crores of people of Tamil Nadu. The governor has acted in a manner that went against the Constitution. Was it not an act that maligned the glory of democracy and violated the Constitution upon which he took oath for the gubernatorial post,” Stalin asked.
Giving a long list of achievements of his government in the past 33 months, Stalin said, “There is another achievement that could be considered as the supreme achievement of ours — on seeing Tamil Nadu growing, enemies of our race are getting angry and feeling jealous. This is the biggest achievement of this Dravidian model government. Those who are jealous of this government show their anger in different ways. The governor, who is holding a constitutional post, is no exception to this. But we cannot be silent.”