CM should apologise to Guv for addressing him in singular: TN BJP

Condemning the behaviour of MLAs from ruling DMK and its coalition partners during the governor's address in the Assembly on January 9, Tamil Nadu BJP on Friday demanded that Chief Minister M K Stalin apologise to R N Ravi for addressing him in "singular" at a party meeting last week.

The BJP, which squarely blamed the state government for the governor skipping a few portions that were "far from truth" from the address prepared for him, also urged the police to arrest DMK leader R S Bharathi and party spokesman Shivaji Krishnamurthy for their "derogatory" and "disgusting" speech against Ravi.

At its state executive meeting held in Cuddalore, the BJP passed a resolution condemning the DMK for politicising the governor's statement that Tamizhagam was a more appropriate name than Tamil Nadu by taking it out of context and defaming the Constitutional head of the state.

"The chief minister should apologise to the governor for addressing him in singular," the resolution read. Addressing a party meeting on January 14, Stalin had said, "one guy is ranting that we should not use the word Tamil Nadu," while referring to Ravi's statement.

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The DMK, involved in a running battle with the governor on several issues, latched onto Ravi walking out of the Assembly even before the national anthem was played as Stalin moved a resolution to take on record only the prepared text of the address to target him.

The governor also provided fodder to political parties by removing the Tamil Nadu state emblem and addressing him as Tamizhaga Aalunar (governor) instead of Tamil Nadu governor in invites sent out for Pongal celebrations.

The BJP resolution also referred to Karunanidhi's statement that C N Annadurai, the then chief minister, renamed Madras state as Tamil Nadu because people in Delhi said they would not be able to pronounce the word Tamizhagam. "This (Tamizhagam-Tamil Nadu) controversy is unnecessary," the resolution added.

The BJP's resolution comes days after state unit chief K Annamalai said he was not "personally" in agreement with the governor's statement and took objection to skipping the state government emblem in official invites.

The executive meeting also demanded that the multi-crore Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project be implemented without disturbing the Ram Setu, a bridge that connects India with Sri Lanka, as per the epic Ramayana.

The project envisages connecting the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait to create a continuous navigable channel around the Indian peninsula without circumnavigating Sri Lanka. This will also help reduce the navigation time between India's east and west coasts.

The project, originally conceived in the 19th century by the then-British regime, got wrangled in controversy following apprehensions that it would damage Ram Setu. A case concerning the project is currently pending before the Supreme Court.