
CHENNAI: Governor R N Ravi has levelled various charges against the state government in his customary Republic Day address. Sources said perhaps it is the first time in history that a governor in the country is making accusations against the government in the R-Day address.
In his address, the governor said key indicators of the state are worrying and that Tamil Nadu is on a ‘declining curve’. He alleged the autonomy of the universities in state has “eroded to such an extent that it is not the university syndicates but the state secretariat that runs the varsities”.
Citing the absence of vice chancellors in many universities, Ravi said the status of the curriculum and syllabus of the varsities, which should be under the purview of university academic councils, are now being dictated by the State Government Council for Higher Education.
The governor also alleged “an increasing menace of drugs”, citing reports indicating the presence of powerful drug syndicates, linked to international cartels, operating in the state.
Ravi said he is “concerned over the continued dehumanisation of Dalits in Tamil Nadu” and added reports of caste-based discrimination, including instances of Dalits being denied access to public spaces and subjected to physical violence, have been alarmingly frequent.
On the economic front, he said the state is in a “declining position” as a destination for private investment. Once a leader in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), Ravi said, Tamil Nadu now trails behind other states like Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. He emphasised dwindling investments are hampering industrial growth and job creation in the state.
He also highlighted Tamil Nadu’s high suicide rate, saying at over 26 per lakh population, the rate is more than double the national average, and it is a reflection of the state’s growing socio-economic distress. “Data analysts call Tamil Nadu the suicide capital of India. Victims are mostly the youth and the poor,” he said in the address.
He also pointed out the alleged discovery of several terrorist modules and sleeper cells, some of which were linked to international terror networks operating within the state, by the NIA.