Why RN Ravi Refused To Read Government Speech And Walked Out Assembly?

The Governor's House has explained that Governor RN Ravi walked out of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly due to Speaker Appavu's Speech attack on the Governor.

In a statement issued by the Governor's House in this regard. The Raj Bhavan received the draft report of the Governor's speech. In it, many untrue things were mentioned. Thus, the Governor sent it back. At that time, the Governor advised what should be followed in the speech.

First, the National Anthem should be given due respect. In particular, the National Anthem should be played at the beginning and end of the Governor's speech. In this regard, the Governor had written to the Chief Minister and the Speaker in the past.

Second, the Governor's speech should reflect the Government's achievements, policies and plans. The Assembly should be informed of the reasons for convening the Legislative Assembly. It should not be a forum for making false statements and bad political comments.

Although the Governor gave this advice, the Government ignored it. In this case, the first assembly session of 2024 started at 10 am yesterday (February 12) with the speech of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. 

In his address, he welcomed the Speaker, Chief Minister, Assembly Members and the people of Tamil Nadu. He begins his speech with the Kural of Tiruvalluvar. 

The Governor then revealed that he could not read the speech, considering the importance of the constitution, as there were numerous passages with false information and statements. Also, the Governor concluded his speech by saying that he wished this Legislative Assembly session to be useful for the welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu.

The speech, running 48 pages, which the Governor refused to read, was critical of the BJP-led Union government’s policies, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was impacting the state’s fiscal autonomy, central funds not being released for projects such as the Metro Rail’s phase 2 in Chennai, flooding and the state’s stance never to allow the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

Speaker Appavu read the Tamil translation of the speech, which the Governor did not read. Even when the speech was not read, Governor RN Ravi sat in the Assembly. Speaker Appavu completed reading the speech, which the Governor refused to read.

After this, a resolution was brought against Governor RN Ravi in the Assembly. The Governor walked even as the Speaker said the national anthem would be played. Their predecessor, Duraimuruga, brought the resolution. All accepted it, and the resolution was passed. Governor Ravi's ignored speech was recorded in the Assembly.

After that, a committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Appa to discuss the number of days to hold the Assembly. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker Appavu said the assembly session will continue until February 22.