Tamil Nadu governor R.N. Ravi on Tuesday dropped the “Nadu” from the state’s name in his Pongal invitations, a day after his omission of key expressions from his government-prepared Assembly speech had triggered a standoff, capped by his walkout from the House.
Ravi had recently advocated a name change for the state to “Tamizhagam”, on the ground that “Nadu” (country) implies separatism, triggering protests from the DMK and its allies.
On Tuesday, he put the idea into practice. His invitation said the Pongal celebrations on the Raj Bhavan lawns on January 12 would be hosted by the “Tamizhaga Aalunar” (Tamizhaga governor) and Thirumathi Lakshmi Ravi (the governor’s wife). Normally, official invitations describe the governor as “Tamizh Nadu Aalunar”.
Tuesday’s invite carried only the Government of India’s emblem and dropped the state government’s insignia that depicts the Srivilliputhur temple town.
Yet, last April, Ravi’s invitations for the Chithrai Vizha, the Tamil New Year, described him as “Tamil Nadu governor” and carried the state emblem along with the national emblem. CPM member Su. Venkatesan, who represents Madurai in the Lok Sabha, tweeted juxtaposed pictures of both invitations and wondered what had caused the governor to change his mind on the name “Tamil Nadu”.
“It’s time the governor who walked out of the Assembly in a huff yesterday also left the state,” the MP tweeted in Tamil. On Monday, the first day of the Assembly in the new year, Ravi had omitted expressions such as the “Dravidian model of governance” and the names of Dravidian icons from his customary government-prepared speech. As chief minister M.K. Stalin proposed a House resolution condemning the governor’s act, Ravi had walked out in a huff.
On Tuesday, protests seeking the governor’s removal — over his actions in the Assembly on Monday — intensified in various parts of Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, students of the Madras Law College and Presidency College joined the protests.
In Coimbatore, cadres of the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, a political party, clashed with police after being prevented from burning an effigy of the governor. Salem Dharanidharan, a member of the DMK’s infotech wing, tweeted: “He (the governor) is behaving like a BJP spokesperson and he should remember that it is the Dravidian model that has made TN the No. 1 state in India, not just in industrial development but also in socio-economic development.”
Another Twitter user, Dr S. Senthilkumar, had a question for supporters of Ravi’s act of omitting phrases and adding his own words to his Assembly speech: “Will the Narendra Modi Govt allow President Droupadi Murmu to add words and to delete texts of her liking in the President’s Address?”
