Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday, May 7, lashed out against Governor RN Ravi, over his remarks against the state government. The Chief Minister was speaking at a public meeting in Pallavaram to mark the completion of two years of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party’s government in the state, when he asked if the Governor wanted to “rule from the Raj Bhavan”.
The Governor had, in an interview to the Times of India last week, made several statements, including that DMK’s Dravidian model was an “expired ideology”.
“Is the governor trying to rule from Raj Bhavan,” CM Stalin asked, asserting that the legislative authority under the constitution was given to the Parliament and state assemblies, and not the Governor.
Referring to the Governor's comment about Dravidian ideology, the CM said that it was not an expired ideology. “Actually, Dravidian ideology caused the extinction of Sanatana Dharma, Varnasrama Dharma, and Manu Needhi. Dravidian ideology caused the expiration of the practice of belittling others in the name of caste. Only Dravidian ideology has the capacity to defeat Aryan ideology. That is why the governor is afraid of our ideology. Mr Governor, you need not be afraid, as Dravidian ideology will never divide people but will unify all. It will not destroy but will always create. It won’t ruin but is always correct. It won’t degrade anyone but will treat all equally. It will not ignore anyone but will take everyone along,” he said.
He also questioned why the Governor was functioning “like an opposition party leader” “What is the purpose of his appointment? Has he come to disturb the peace prevailing in the state? The doubt people have is whether the governor has been sent to create chaos in the prevailing social structure in the state,” he said.
The Governor, during the interview, had also implied that Tamil Nadu was not a ‘haven of peace’ and that there were instances of violence after the ban on PFI. Responding to this, the CM said, “I ask Mr Ravi: Isn’t BJP-ruled Manipur burning now? Is there any such violence taking place in Tamil Nadu? A few months ago, there were riots in BJP-ruled Karnataka. No such incidents have occurred in our state. The governor says violent incidents took place following the ban on the PFI. But the fact is not a single life was lost in those incidents, and as many as 16 persons involved in those incidents were arrested immediately and six persons were imprisoned under National Security Act.” Stalin also refuted the Governor’s claim that the banned two-finger test was performed on children.