TN governor-govt relation fractured, Centre must recall him at once: Experts

CHENNAI: Political analysts and retired judge K Chandru opined that Governor RN Ravi should not have skipped certain portions of the speech approved as per the conventions and the Constitution. A retired officer of the Assembly opined that the chief minister moving the resolution on the day of the Governor’s address was also inappropriate as no other business should be taken up on that day except the governor’s address.

Retired judge K Chandru said that according to the convention of the House, the customary address of the governor was a policy document of the state government. As such, the governor has to go by the prepared speech since the government is only answerable to the people, not the governor. The governor, however, could advise the government if anything went against the country's sovereignty or its relations with other countries.

The present governor was yet to give assent to many of the Bills passed by the Assembly. "When you do not carry out the mandate of the House (in the form of Bills), how can you address the House? After this governor started making controversial statements, every political party started telling him that he is not a governor but only a BJP functionary. Now, he is using the august forum of the House to air his views. That means he is determined to create disturbance in the state," Chandru said.

Retired IAS officer MG Devasahayam said that since day one of assuming office, this governor had been making controversial statements. “After Monday’s developments in the House, the relationship between the state government and the governor has become fractured. His continuation is untenable, and the governor must be recalled immediately. Skipping a portion of the approved speech is a serious infringement on the Constitution because the speech was approved by the Council of Ministers, and the governor should act as per the advice of the council. By staging a walkout, the governor has insulted the House, i.e., the people of the state.  

A retired senior officer of the Assembly, however, said the chief minister moving a resolution on the day of the governor’s address was inappropriate as no other business could be taken up on that day except the governor’s address. The chief minister could have moved a resolution the next day, and even a member can move a resolution during the discussion on the governor’s address to add the skipped portions.  

The retired official recalled that there were many incidents of the governor skipping portions of the customary address, and there were numerous occasions wherein the governor could not complete his speech fully due to disturbances.  On many occasions, the governors had demanded that the entire speech be taken as read.

Asked whether the governor has the power to skip certain portions in the address, the retired officer said: “The governor has no power to skip certain portions. But on the other hand, one cannot fault him for skipping a part of the address. Only when the governor skips portions relating to government policies does it violate the constitution."  

Political analyst Tharasu Shyam said skipping certain portions of the approved speech violated the Constitution. The governor did additions, deletions and skipping in his address on Monday. In many states, governors had skipped portions of the speech. But Governor Ravi added some portions, which were not part of the printed books in English and Tamil. So the government had no other option but to bring a resolution to set the right things.

Shyam also recalled that during the Jayalalithaa regime, the then Governor Channa Reddy skipped a few portions, and the then Assembly speaker clarified that the governor need not read the entire speech, and the House took into the record the entire Tamil translation of the speech. Shyam said the Assembly Speaker could move the Supreme Court on behalf of the House in this regard. After Monday’s developments in the House, the union government should recall this governor immediately as a cordial relationship between the governor and the government would not be possible.