Tamil Nadu fumes over Governor RN Ravi's ‘political’ fiat to civil service aspirants

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has done it again. This time, both the ruling DMK and the main Opposition AIADMK have slammed him over his politically loaded statements during his interaction with civil service aspirants.

After the first three sessions in the Raj Bhavan raked up only minor controversies, the fourth one on Thursday ruffled the feathers in political circles for multiple reasons: justifying his refusal to sign on bills forwarded by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, alleging motives behind protests against the Vizhinjam port in Kerala and the Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu, and accusing NGOs of using foreign funds to subvert India.

“If a bill is withheld, it means it is dead,” the Governor claimed, sparking a controversy.

Also Read: IMAGES: Chennai airport’s new terminal building all set to open by PM

The Governor is misleading youngsters, charged Elangovan, an advocate in the Madras High Court. “The act of withholding a bill doesn’t mean killing the bill. The statement is absurd. If a governor chooses to sit on it forever, as the constitution doesn’t provide a time period for its clearance, it lapses only when the legislative assembly’s term is over. With the end of the term, the will of the people also ends. The Governor saying otherwise doesn’t have any iota of truth,” Elangovan told The Federal.

AIADMK upset

The Governor’s interaction has upset many, including the AIADMK, which has usually gone soft on Ravi. On Friday, it came out against the governor, saying it was unwarranted to rake up an old issue – the anti-Sterlite protests.

An upset DMK is pushing for the removal of Ravi. Party leaders say the governor spoke in detail on the role of IAS and IPS officers, which has a direct bearing on the functioning of state governments.

“If it is between the Central government and the state government, you have to stand by the Central government,” Ravi said at the training programme titled ‘Think to Dare.’ “You are chosen for the Union government, not the state government.”

Also Read: Milk war hots up: Amul’s entry has Karnataka on the boil

DMK spokesperson Salem Dharanidharan said the talk by Ravi was part of a larger plan executed by governors in non-BJP-ruled states targeting and trying to destabilize non-BJP state governments. “The DMK won’t be cowed down by such attempts to manipulate aspiring civil servants with half-truths. We stand for states’ autonomy, we support secularism, and we are against Hindi imposition. We will continue to do so despite such challenges,” he said.

Innocent governor?

Advocate Elangovan felt the Governor’s talk doesn’t seem to be a harmless training or coaching given to youngsters.

“Why is the Governor misleading on legal issues? This seems to be an extension of efforts to capture institutions. Think of it, can the President of India say such things about legislations or bills passed by Parliament? Unfortunately, there is no constitutional provision for the aggrieved states to remove a governor. Only the President alone can withdraw a governor.”

Ravi’s statement on who the IAS and IPS officers should owe their allegiance to coincides with the Central government’s decision to bring in Mission Karmayogi scheme for civil service trainees. Under the scheme, spiritual and religious leaders like Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be among the trainers. Corporates are also being roped in. As per reports, people critical of the Central government aren’t provided space unlike in the past.

Unfortunately, what Ravi has spoken about IAS and IPS officers is practically true, said a trainer of a civil services coaching centre who did not want to be quoted by name. “The officers are assigned to a state until their retirement. But the Centre holds the power to get them for central services. This brings in awkwardness like what happened in West Bengal where the Chief Secretary was recalled by the Centre after he failed to receive the Prime Minister,” he said.

Explained: The trouble brewing over Centre’s coal mining plan in TN’s delta region

Unlike political statements like Tamil Nadu should be named Thamizhakam, Ravi’s interaction with IAS and IPS officers started with fairly non-controversial remarks. In a session on December 18, Ravi spoke of taking “bold decisions on ethical, legal issues for the welfare of the people”. But the next session on January 10 was more political. “Don’t be critical of the government of India’s policies,” he said.

Governor speaks

Statements of state ministers may not be construed as a policy, he remarked. Yet “statements of the Prime Minister can be considered a policy announcement”, he said. The Governor stressed that only the policies of the Central government were sacrosanct and not the policies of the states. The last one on April 6 had several controversial statements.

“External forces are not able to take on India directly. Instead, they create disharmony, hate … A situation (where) tensions, riots” prevail, he said. Ravi cited protests against the Sterlite plant and the Vizhinjam port and claimed foreign funding behind the opposition.

Chennai-based Shankar IAS Academy sent its students for the first two sessions. Despite a few controversies, the overall interaction was appreciable, said Chandrasekar S, head of Academics, Shankar IAS Academy. “I disagree with his opinion that aspirants and officers should not be critical of government policies. Only with a critical approach can we bring a change. But if you leave out the countable controversial parts of his speeches, it was a great learning for the students. It is unfortunate that the focus falls on the controversies rather than the learning imparted,” he told The Federal.

Political parties allege that Ravi is breaching constitutional boundaries. Governors who are supposed to act on the advice of the council of ministers of the state are expected to be apolitical. But Ravi has batted for the New Education Policy (NEP) brought in by the Centre, terming it “the need of the hour”, fully knowing that Tamil Nadu is not happy with the policy.

Furious DMK

The DMK is upset with the Governor sitting on bills — and now justifying his conduct. More than 20 bills are pending with the Raj Bhavan and the Governor speaks half-truths among youngsters on the issue which is deplorable, said DMK’s Dharanidharan.

“Bills passed in the Assembly are the voice of people. The Governor cannot put them in cold storage…The Governors can either forward the bills or send them back,” he said.

The AIADMK, too, was critical of Ravi. Its leader KP Munusamy said it was unfortunate that the Governor had commented on the closing down of the Sterlite copper smelting plant taken by the then AIADMK government. “A government takes decisions based on public opinion. It’s not appropriate for the governor to comment on the decisions of an elected government.”