How TN Guv finally gave assent to Bill banning online rummy

After a long battle, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi gave his assent to the Bill banning online rummy. The friction between the Governor and the State government is a long story. But after CM Stalin moved a resolution against the Governor in the State Legislative Assembly, the issue became sensational news all over.

Many appreciate CM Stalin while criticising the Governor. But he finally surrendered to the pressure of the Tamil Nadu government. What is the truth behind the speculations? Some of the current political leaders of Tamil Nadu shared their thoughts on this sensational issue.

Peter Alphonse, chairman of the Minorities Commission, Govt of Tamil Nadu, said, "This is very very rare. This is like a no-confidence motion brought out on Governor Ravi by the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly."

"Why is he still in the Governor's position even after the entire Assembly stood and passed a motion against him? This is the biggest question still hanging. If the same issue happened 15 years ago, the Governor would have resigned from his post immediately. Such respectable Governors were in governance during those times. Some would have caused some mistakes. But we cannot blow out those mistakes," he added.

"But today's Governor is acting totally against the welfare of the State. And he keeps on acting the same like it's his main business. But CM Stalin continued to tolerate it so far. Many days, CM Stalin maintained his decorum. Even now, in TN Governor's case, the action taken by the CM is far less than the other Chief Ministers of the country," he said.

Last time, when Governor Ravi added and skipped some details mentioned in the speech prepared for him by the State government, CM Stalin immediately moved a resolution. The Assembly adopted a resolution to record only the Governor's original speech prepared by the State Government. "Many national media extended their support for CM Stalin. In the same way, our CM so skilfully handled this ban on the online rummy issue," he added.

'Why Governor met rummy lobby?'

The motion against the Governor in the State Assembly will be in history till the Constitution remains in the country. This will speak about the Centre and the State relationship in history. "There are a few rules in the Assembly which refrain the members from speaking about some people. For instance, we cannot discuss the High Court judges, Public Service Commissions, State Governors, Ambassadors of our country in other countries and the President," Alphonse said.

"But those rules have been amended and adopted today. The Governor accepted the word 'ordinance'. the word ordinance is similar to the word 'Act'. When the State issued an Emergency Act, the Governor accepted it. But he refused to pass the Bill. Why can't he approve the Bill? It is noticeable that people who are the backbone of this online rummy business met the Governor in person. Why did he meet with them? Why the business people didn't meet the respective government officials? What is the need for them to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan itself?" he asked.

"When a Bill is passed by the State government in the Assembly for the second time, the Governor is in no authority to refuse his approval. If he doesn't want to respect the motion passed by the Assembly, how could he stomp over it?" he sought to know.

'CM Stalin cannot sit still'

The Governor conducted an event for IAS aspiring students. In the event the Governor said, "When there is a conflict between the State and the Centre, the IAS officers should stand with the Centre and not the State." Alphonse pointed out, "A Governor should have said that the officers should stand by the Constitution of India. If a Governor speaks like this, how could the Assembly elected by the people sit still without taking any action?"

DMK lawyer Saravanan said, "India is functioning based on the Constitution of India. If you ask whether the State is bigger or the Union government is bigger, we should say that the Constitution of India is the biggest. But Governor R.N. Ravi keeps on disrespecting our Constitution of India. I don't know if the Governor could speak or understand Tamil. But when someone translates what Minister Duraimurugan said in the Assembly with the same facial expressions, then the Governor would have resigned his post by now."

Senior Journalist Hindu Ram said, "The resolution against the Governor is quite a development for the State Legislative Assembly. I expected this. The Governor is continuously spreading many false notions. He said that the Bill has to be considered rejected if it hadn't been passed. This shows that he does not know the Constitution of India. But if he knew about the Constitution, then this has to be considered a violation of the Constitution. What CM Stalin did was absolutely right."

'Governor acting like politician'

CPM's K. Balakrishnan shared, "Governor Ravi is creating controversies on a day-to-day basis. He is speaking against Science. He made an absurd allegation that no country in the world practices secularism while 80% of the countries in this world are practicing secularism. Hence, the Governor is spreading lies. In the same way, he was saying that India was created by Rishis and sages. He refused to call the State 'Tamil Nadu'. He was adding and neglecting things against the Tamil Nadu government in his speeches."

"The Governor is acting like a politician. He is working to disable the Tamil Nadu government. This controversy has been burning for the past 7 months. If the Governor would have given his approval by January, we could have saved 40 lives from this online rummy," claimed Balakrishnan.