CHENNAI: After three years, peace returned to the Tamil Nadu Assembly on the day the governor delivers his customary address. Governor Rajendra V Arlekar, on Thursday, delivered his full address and left the House happily after greeting all members.
The ‘Thamizh Thai Vaazhthu’ was rendered at the beginning of the first session of the Assembly, followed by the National Anthem. The National Anthem was also recited at the end of the session. However, ‘Vande Mataram’ was not sung. The governor hailed the rendition of the National Anthem at both the beginning and end of the Assembly session as the dawn of a new era.
This scenario was in total contrast to the first sessions during 2023-26 when the then Governor R N Ravi refused to read the address approved by the state Cabinet, by skipping certain portions and leaving the House in a huff. The most recent occasion was on January 20, when Governor Ravi left the House abruptly and gave 13 reasons for doing so.
On Thursday, the customary address prepared by the TVK government went off peacefully in all respects as Governor Arlekar delivered his speech with all members of the opposition present in the House till he completed his speech and left the House, greeting the members.
However, the governor did not say anything about skipping the Vande Mataram at the beginning of the session. Arlekar took exception to the partial rendering of Vande Mataram during the first session of the Kerala Assembly recently.
Moreover, Arlekar expressed his “immense satisfaction over reading his address in its entirety without any disruption after a hiatus of three years”. “Today marks the dawning of a new era in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. For the first time, the National Anthem was rendered both at the commencement of the session and at the conclusion of the governor’s address,” he said.
Advising the TVK government to foster harmonious relations across all quarters and govern in a stable, inclusive and exemplary manner to fulfil people’s aspirations, the governor said it was deeply gratifying that all have begun the collective journey toward this goal.
Speaker J C D Prabhakar, talking to reporters, thanked the governor for extending his full cooperation for conducting the session in a cordial atmosphere. The speaker said there was nothing wrong in reciting the National Anthem twice since the Thamizh Thai Vaazhthu was rendered first.
