Tamil Nadu Governor's speeches help DMK expose BJP: CM M K Stalin

'It is because of his speeches, the Dravidian ideology is reaching more people. The more he speaks, the more people get to understand the logic behind our insistence of state autonomy,' Stalin added.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday made an unusual request to the Union Government -- he appealed that R N Ravi be allowed to continue as the Governor of the state since his speeches help the DMK “expose the BJP”, take the Dravidian ideology to the masses, and make it easy for people to understand the demand for state autonomy.

Stalin’s “request” comes almost two weeks after Ravi accused him and Assembly Speaker M Appavu of “disrespecting” the National Anthem by not playing it at the start and end of his address. The Governor also used harsh words against the Chief Minister saying that his “arrogance was not good” while maintaining that the state government didn’t act according to the Constitution and insisted that Tamil Thai Vaazhthu and the National Anthem be played at the beginning and end of the address respectively.

In his speech at a conference organised by DMK Advocates’ Wing, Stalin said while the DMK was fighting to protect the Constitution and democracy by opposing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, the Governor was trying to portray that the ruling party was against the Constitution.

“Who is this Governor? He is the one who walked out of the Assembly even before the National Anthem was played. My request to the Union Government is that don’t change him just because I am criticising him. The more he speaks, the more BJP gets exposed in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said.

“It is because of his speeches, the Dravidian ideology is reaching more people. The more he speaks, the more people get to understand the logic behind our insistence of state autonomy,” the Chief Minister added.

Stalin’s statement adds to the confrontational saga between Raj Bhavan and Fort St George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government. Ravi’s walkout from the Assembly on January 6 intensified the struggle between the two institutions which have been at loggerheads over a slew of issues, especially on matters relating to Higher Education.

On ‘One Nation, One Election’, Stalin said the BJP government was trying to convert India into a unitary state by talking about one language, one culture, one religion, and one food.

“They want to undermine states through one government. As far as the BJP is concerned, ONOP will certainly be a long term ideological plan for them. The proponents of ONOP will one day want only one election in the country. This will centralise all powers in an individual and this won’t be good even for the BJP in the long run,” Stalin said.

Contending that ONOP will only help make Prime Minister Narendra Modi “a dictator”, Stalin asked parties supporting the BJP not to fall for the proposal. “I request these parties not to support the ONOP Bill. Supporting the BJP government is your choice, but please oppose policies that are against India’s federalism,” he added.