TN Guv ends address to Assembly in a huff

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Monday refused to read out the complete text of the customary address to the state Assembly, claiming it has 'misleading facts', and lambasted the ruling DMK over the national anthem issue, remarks that were 'expunged' in yet another showdown between the Raj Bhavan and the state government.

The expunged remarks were Ravi's 'personal' comments and only the approved text would be in the records, Speaker M Appavu said.

The Governor also walked out of the House before the national anthem was played.

Ravi reading out from such a text would be a "Constitutional travesty," the Raj Bhavan later said, explaining the sequence of events.

This was the Governor's inaugural address for the year to the House. The national anthem was also at the centre of controversy as Ravi demanded it be played before and after the address while the government maintained it was not in lines with the House tradition and rules.

For the second year in a row, the state Assembly witnessed controversy during the Governor's Address. Last year, on January 9, Ravi omitted some portions of the government-prepared address and also included few points on his own before the a resolution was adopted to restore the original draft in the records. Ravi only read out from the first of the 46-page speech on Monday.

The Raj Bhavan charged Appavu with launching a tirade on Ravi and insisted he walked out to uphold the dignity of the office of the Governor. The draft Governor's address was received on February 9 and it had 'numerous passages' with "misleading claims far from truth."

Ravi, therefore, returned the file and also advised the government to show due respect to the national anthem by playing it at the beginning and end of the Governor's address.