Governor RN Ravi a threat to peace and tranquillity in Tamil Nadu: DMK and its allies tell President

ByShilpa Nair

Published Nov 09, 2022 | 11:40 AMUpdatedNov 09, 2022 | 5:56 PM

Guv Ravi

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Tamil Nadu government and Governor RN Ravi, MPs belonging to the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance have submitted a memorandum to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, seeking Ravi’s immediate removal from office.

In the 20-page memorandum, the parties have levelled serious charges against Ravi, and pointed out that a “Governor who turns political must cease to be a Governor”.

“RN Ravi has violated the oath he took under Article 159 to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and to devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of Tamil Nadu. Far from it, he has been instigating communal hatred, and is a threat to the peace and tranquillity of the State,” the memorandum said, explaining why Governor Ravi is unfit to hold Constitutional office.

“Some might even consider his statements as seditious, as his statements bring or attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite or attempt to excite disaffection towards the government established by law,” it added.

Ongoing tussle

The memorandum comes just days after the DMK and leaders of its alliance parties issued a statement condemning the controversial remarks made by Governor Ravi on a host of issues such as secularism, Sanatana Dharma, Aryans, Dravidians, Scheduled Castes, Thirukkural, etc.

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi

Governor Ravi said Thiruvalluvar is one of the brightest suns in the galaxy of ancient sages. (rajbhavan_tn/Twitter)

Even on policy issues such as the National Education Policy or the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET), the Governor has been taking a stand contrary to the ruling DMK.

In the memorandum, the parties stated that the actions of a Governor, who is the nominee of the Union government and an unelected figure, opposing a popularly-elected state government is a “perversion of the Constitutional set-up and a death knell to democracy”.

“The framers of the Constitution would never have imagined a situation where a Governor openly contradicts the policy of the elected state government or impedes legislation passed by the legislature by indefinitely delaying assent or acts against secularism. Such a situation can only be described as autocracy. Yet, such a situation prevails in Tamil Nadu,” it read.

Of ‘interference’ and ‘unconstitutional acts’

Placing on record their dissatisfaction, the MPs who signed the memorandum claimed that the work being done by the Tamil Nadu government and the legislature is being obturated by the Governor by openly contradicting its policies in public and unduly delaying assent to bills passed by the Assembly.

Speaking specifically about how Ravi is sitting on 20 bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the leaders pointed out that a Governor cannot sit as an appellate authority over the decision of the Cabinet or the legislature.

“The need, requirement, or necessity of a bill cannot be inquired into by the Governor. That is within the sole prerogative of the Legislature, which extensively debates the necessity of the bill. Once a bill is passed it is deemed to be the will of the people and the Governor has to act within the framework of the Constitution,” the leaders pointed out.

They also charged that such actions by the Governor amounted to interference in the administration of the state and in the transaction of business by the Legislature.

“It impedes and obstructs a democratically-elected government from serving the people, which is ex-facie unconstitutional,” the DMK and its allies added.

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Example of NEET

Taking the example of the NEET-exemption bill, the memorandum stated that after the bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Governor Ravi, instead of forwarding it to the President for assent, “usurped” the powers of the President and “questioned the wisdom of the legislature” and returned it.

This, according to the MPs, was ultra vires of the powers conferred on a Governor.

“Due to his conduct, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had to be convened for a special session and the Assembly re-enacted the NEET Exemption Bill and sent it again to the Governor.

“This shows that the Governor is acting against the collective will of the people as expressed by the state Legislative Assembly. These are all acts of unbecoming of a Governor,” the Tamil Nadu parliamentarians charged.

Related: Tamil Nadu Governor stokes controversy over Thirukkural

‘Threat to peace and tranquility’

Stating that Tamil Nadu is a “paradise” where people, cutting across religions, caste and languages, live peacefully, the leaders who signed the petition claimed that Governor Ravi has developed an “unfortunate propensity to publicly profess his lack of faith in the secular ideals of the country and frequently engages in divisive rhetoric”.

“The Governor has been unabashedly propagating dangerous, divisive, religious rhetoric in public, which is unbecoming of a Governor. His speeches are made with a calculated intent to incite hatred and create communal unrest among the people,” the MPs said.

Referring to one of the recent remarks made by the Governor, that “India is also dependent on one religion like the rest of the world, the MPs called it an affront to the Indian Constitution, and noted that the country is dependent on its Constitution and laws, and not any religion.

Tamil Nadu fake passport scam

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai called on Governor RN Ravi seeking his intervention in the fake passport scam. (Annamalai/Twitter)

Recalling other controversial comments made by the Governor, the memorandum said: “In the past, the Governor has made similar communal remarks like praising Sanatana Dharma, communalising the jewel of Tamil literature  — the Thirukural — and denouncing Dravidian heritage and Tamil pride. These statements have caused deep wounds to the Tamil sentiment and pride.”

While reminding the Governor that he has “not won any election in Tamil Nadu to decide what is good for the people” of the state, the leaders emphasised that the mind of a Governor should be “free of any political likes or dislikes or party politics or expectations of future appointments” after the expiry of tenure, and instead, the attention should be towards people’s welfare.

Drawing attention to how retired bureaucrats who are/were close to the ruling party at the Centre are offered the post of Governor as “quid pro quo”, the Tamil Nadu MPs alleged that such persons “do not have the basic knowledge, integrity and impartiality to hold the office of Governor”.

“The image of the Governor as merely an agent of the Union sitting in state capitals and desperately seeking an opportunity to run down the state government when it is in the hands of a party opposed to the party ruling at Centre will deform our cooperative federalism and destroy our democracy.”

“The Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is a text book example of this malady,” they added.

Here is the list of 20 pending bills with Governor RN Ravi as on 31 October:

Pending bills 1

Pending bills 2