Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin with Governor R N Ravi.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Chennai: Three alliance partners of the ruling DMK, including Congress, on Tuesday decided to boycott the ‘At Home’ to be hosted by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday on the occasion of Independence Day in protest against his actions that they said go against the “principles of federalism and the Constitution.”
While Congress, MDMK, and CPI (M) declared their intention not to attend the reception in Raj Bhavan, the DMK will take a call on its stand by Wednesday after Chief Minister M K Stalin holds a discussion with party seniors in the wake of the standoff between the government and the governor on a slew of issues.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K Selvaperunthagai said the party decided to boycott the reception to “express” people’s protest against the Governor who has been working “overtime” against the democratically elected government led by Stalin.
“Many of his statements were anti-democratic and his actions of appointing search committees to pick vice-chancellors of state-funded universities by sidestepping the state government has resulted in the non-functioning of these institutions,” Selvaperunthagai said, adding that the Congress wants the Centre not to grant an extension to Ravi, whose tenure ended last month.
Though there has been no fresh confrontation between the Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government, the alliance partners said the “arrogant attitude” of the Governor doesn’t allow their “conscience” to attend the party.
“He doesn’t respect the Constitution and throws to the wind principles of federalism. The CPI(M) has once again decided to boycott Governor’s At Home,” state general secretary K Balakrishnan said.
The DMK leader quoted above said the Chief Minister will discuss the issue threadbare and take the “right decision.”
“While keeping in mind the decision taken by alliance partners, the party chief will consider several aspects before taking a call. It is not necessary to make our stand public. The Chief Minister, if he decides not to go, might simply skip the event without making an announcement,” the DMK leader added.
In case the Chief Minister stays away from the event, the government will be represented by the Chief Secretary and senior bureaucrats. The DMK government had in the past boycotted the Governor’s reception in April 2022 to protest his action of not sending the NEET bill to the President of India.