Resign before talking against Constitutional values: DMK, allies to TN Governor

They took strong objection to the Governor’s latest statement that 'every country is dependent on one religion and India was no exception to the rule'

Mounting a joint offensive against Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi for his statements on 'sanatana dharma' and secularism, the ruling DMK and its allies on Sunday asked him to resign from the post before making “controversial remarks” to please the BJP leadership that are in complete “contradiction with the Constitution.”

In a joint statement, leaders of 11 political parties, including DMK’s T R Baalu, K S Alagiri of Congress and Thol. Thirumavalavan of VCK, took strong objection to the Governor’s latest statement that “every country is dependent on one religion and India was no exception to the rule” and asked him to stop talking like he was the “country’s emperor.”

Ravi, who took charge as Tamil Nadu Governor in September 2021, has come under the fire of political parties for his controversial statements on sanatan dharma, Thirukkural, and Colonialism. He has also been involved in a running battle with the DMK on a host of issues, including NEET and appointment of Vice-Chancellors to state-funded universities.

Almost all alliance partners of the DMK took objection to Ravi’s appointment last year and saw the move as part of BJP’s “political plans” in Tamil Nadu. In the Sunday’s statement, the leaders said Ravi’s statements on sanatan dharma, Aryanism, Dravidianism, people from Scheduled Castes (SC), and Thirukkural are “absurd and dangerous.”

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The Governor has also been saying that sanatan dharma has been guiding the country for a very long time, despite objections from several political parties.

The leaders wondered whether the Governor realises that he is talking against the very Constitution on which he swore while taking oath. “We think that the Governor, while making such statements, imagines himself as the Indian Parliament, or Supreme Court, or the President of India. It won’t even be an exaggeration to say that the Governor imagines himself as India’s emperor,” the leaders said in the joint statement.

Referring to Ravi’s statement on “India being dependent on one religion like the rest of the world”, the leaders said such utterances make it clear that the Tamil Nadu Governor neither understand world history nor the Constitution of India. Reminding that the Constitution grants equal rights to citizens who profess different faiths, the leaders of 11 political parties also accused the Governor of “speaking against” the Supreme Court verdict in the S R Bommai versus Union of India which reiterated India’s secular principles.

The Governor should stop talking against the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, the leaders said, implying that the document stresses that the country is “democratic and secular”, the leaders said, adding that they are openly accusing Ravi of “making controversial statements” despite knowing that he is wrong.

“We are forced to give importance to his speech just because he is the Governor. If Ravi is making such statements only to please the (BJP) leadership with an aim to land in a bigger position of power, he should resign as Governor before making controversial remarks,” the leaders added.