
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan on Sunday sharply reacted to the remark of Chief Minister MK Stalin that Governor RN Ravi's decision to avoid delivering his address to the State Assembly was childish.
In a tweet, the Raj Bhavan said by his remarks, the Chief Minister has asserted that insisting on due respect to the National Anthem and doing fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution is “absurd” and “childish”.
"Thanks for betraying the true intentions of the coalition of interests and ideologies to which he is a leader that does not accept and respect Bharat as a nation and Her Constitution. Such arrogance is not good," the Raj Bhavan said.
The Raj Bhavan also conveyed to the CM: "Please do not forget that Bharat is the supreme Mother and the Constitution the supreme faith for her children. They will not like or tolerate such brazen insult."
On January 6, the first day of the Tamil Nadu Assembly's first session in the year, the governor left the House in a huff within three minutes of his arrival. Later, through a statement, the Raj Bhavan cited 'brazen disrespect' to the National Anthem and the Constitution as the reason for the governor's walkout. The Raj Bhavan said only the Tamil Thai Vazhthu was recited at the beginning of the session and the National Anthem was skipped.
Speaker M Appavu and Leader of the House Duraimurugan explained that the House has high regard for the National Anthem. They said the convention had been the recital of Tamil Thai Vaazhthu in the beginning and the National Anthem after the Governor’s address concluded. Also, the Chief Minister described the governor's refusal to deliver the customary address as “childish” and said this act did not befit his position.
The governor did not react to the remark of CM that the former's decision not to read the customary address was childish on January 6. However, the reaction from the Raj Bhavan came on Sunday after the CM reiterated his view on Saturday during his reply to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor's address. Besides, the CM also criticised the governor in his speech.