Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi walks out of House after CM MK Stalin moves resolution against his speech

Chennai, January 9

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday staged an unprecedented walkout from the state Assembly following a face-off with Chief Minister MK Stalin over the former’s customary address to members of the House in its first session of the year.

Tussle over customary address

• In his address to members of the House in its first session of the year, Ravi skipped a few portions of the draft prepared by the government
• This prompted Stalin to move a resolution to expunge from records all such comments made by the Governor that didn’t conform to the draft
• It is customary that the Governor adheres to the draft of his speech prepared by the government

In his address, Ravi skipped a few portions of the draft prepared by the government, prompting Stalin to move a resolution to expunge from records all such comments made by the Governor that didn’t conform to the draft. It is customary that the Governor adheres to the draft of his speech prepared by the government. The incident on Monday marked yet another low point in an already tenuous relationship between the Governor and the political executive in the southern state.

The high drama on the floor of the House soon snowballed into a heated debate online between the supporters and critics of the ruling DMK, even as “GetOutRavi” trended on Twitter, with many calling for the ouster of Ravi from the gubernatorial post. However, the state BJP threw its weight behind Ravi, describing as “disrespectful and amateurish” Stalin moving a resolution against the Governor whilst Ravi was still seated in the House.

The DMK-dominated House had convened for the first session of the year with the Governor’s customary address to the members, which the main opposition AIADMK dubbed as a “disappointment”, and said it was “indecent” on the part of the CM to have “spoken” when the Governor was seated, alluding to the resolution moved by Stalin. Earlier, Ravi began his address amid slogan shouting against him by MLAs belonging to allies of the ruling DMK. As soon as he began his address in Tamil, greeting members on the New Year and the harvest festival ‘Pongal,’ legislators raised slogans.