Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi Walks Out Government's Assembly Address, Here's Why

In a historic move within the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the customary address to the House was concluded within a few minutes by Governor RN Ravi on Monday.

The Governor asserted his disagreement with the government regarding the content of the address and criticized the DMK government for what he perceived as a lack of respect for the national anthem.

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi Skips Address

In his inaugural address to the House for the year, Ravi expressed disappointment that his repeated requests and advice to the state government to show due respect to the national anthem by playing it at the beginning and end of the address had been disregarded. The House had been convened on February 12 by the government for the customary Governor's Address to the Assembly.

Ravi highlighted that the address contained numerous messages with which he "convincingly disagree[d], on factual and moral grounds." Consequently, he believed that "lending [his] voice" to such aspects that he disagreed with would constitute a "constitutional travesty."

Concluding his address with respect to the House, Ravi wished for a productive and healthy discussion for the benefit of the people. He greeted Speaker M Appavu, Chief Minister MK Stalin, and legislators in Tamil before ending his speech within a few minutes after conveying his disagreement with the government.

This move by Governor Ravi parallels a similar action recently taken by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who also concluded his customary address to the state Assembly in a couple of minutes and read out only the last paragraph.