Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced that his government will push for a constitutional amendment to remove the provision that mandates the Governor to deliver an annual address in the state Legislative Assembly. The proposal comes amid ongoing tensions between the state government and Governor R.N. Ravi over the customary speech at the start of the Assembly session.
Stalin’s statement follows a dramatic episode in the Assembly where Governor R.N. Ravi walked out without reading the speech prepared by the state government. This marked the fourth consecutive year the Governor declined to deliver the full address, citing alleged inaccuracies in the text.
Calling the situation untenable, the Chief Minister questioned the relevance of maintaining a constitutional requirement that is repeatedly violated in practice, particularly in states governed by opposition parties. Stalin said that it may be time to reconsider the place of the Governor’s address in the Constitution, and this should be done through an amendment at the national level.
In a social media post, Stalin reiterated the demand, saying that a constitutional amendment to drop the Governor’s address would benefit all opposition-ruled states where similar conflicts have occurred. He also stressed that the achievements of his government under the Dravidian model over the past four years should not be overshadowed by disputes over procedural conventions.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a resolution treating the government’s text as formally read, invoking internal rules after the Governor’s departure led to disruptions on the floor.