CM justifies criticising Ravi citing his past attacks on Dravidianism

CM justifies criticising Ravi citing  his past attacks on Dravidianism

Why didn’t the Governor raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, asks Stalin. He recalls past instances of Ravi belittling Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai 19.10.2024

Hours after Governor R.N. Ravi said he regretted Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s “racist remark” against him in the wake of a row over the omission of a verse on the glory of the Dravidian land during a rendition of the State song at an official function of DD Chennai, the Chief Minister stood his ground.

Reacting to Mr. Ravi’s statement, Mr. Stalin asked why the Governor did not raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, if it were true that he had indeed rendered the song with reverence.

The Governor could have corrected it then and there, he said. “If you [Governor] had done that, would there have been this reaction,” he asked.

Mr. Stalin went on to recall past instances of the Governor having made remarks belittling the Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu. “How could we forget you saying the State should not be called ‘Tamil Nadu’, but ‘Tamilagam’? You said it was the British who introduced the term ‘Dravidam’,” he said.

Referring to an interview in which the Governor said the Dravida model was an expired ideology, Mr. Stalin said, “This hatred has since developed, reaching all the way to the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu.”

If the Governor loved Tamil, why did he release an image of poet-saint Tiruvalluvar in saffron robes, Mr. Stalin asked, and accused the Governor of not adhering to convention and speaking about politics on a daily basis.

“What kind of political civility is it to convert the Raj Bhavan into a political office or to belittle the Dravidian race,” Mr. Stalin asked.

The Chief Minister called out the Governor for having avoided mentioning the names of late social reformer ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy, architect of the Constitution B.R. Ambedkar, and former Chief Ministers K. Kamaraj, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi during his customary address to the Assembly.

“If someone holding a Constitutional post becomes a puppet of a sectarian gang and intends to sow the seeds of sectarian ideas in the Tamil land, the people of Tamil Nadu would pour hot water on the idea,” he said.

“If you intend to continue in the post of the Governor, I request you to free yourself from the clutches of sectarian forces and discharge your duties enshrined in the Constitution,” the Chief Minister said.