CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday accused Governor R N Ravi of “insulting” the constitutional office he holds by refusing to read out the customary address at the commencement of the Assembly session.
Saying he was compelled to speak out against the Governor’s actions, Stalin remarked that several governors who had served Tamil Nadu in the past had conducted themselves differently.
“I am facing a crisis that was not witnessed during the tenures of former Chief Ministers C N Annadurai, M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. The Governor is insulting the position he holds by not reading the speech at the start of the Assembly session and by insisting on playing the national anthem at the beginning,” Stalin said while replying in the Assembly.
The Chief Minister said that as per long-standing tradition, the national anthem is played at the conclusion of the Governor’s address in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, while Tamil Thai Vazhthu is rendered at the commencement of proceedings.
“We are not inferior to anyone in patriotism, and no one needs to teach us,” Stalin said, adding that political challenges were not new to him. “I have faced numerous challenges in the past and overcome them,” he said.
Referring to law and order, Stalin also claimed that crime rates under the current DMK government were lower compared to those recorded during the previous AIADMK regime.