New Delhi:

Tamil Nadu Assembly’s first session of the year got off to a stormy start on Monday as the Opposition AIADMK and BJP MLAs protested and raised slogans against the Anna University sexual assault case. Several leaders, including Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami – who led the protest – also held placards in the House.

The Assembly Speaker M Appavu asked the protesting MLAs to stop the sloganeering. However, as they did not stop, the Speaker ordered marshalls to evacuate them. 

Following this, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) and other BJP leaders also walked out of the Assembly.

According to BJP MLA, Vanathi Srinivasan, they do not have any faith in the government’s investigation into the sexual assault case. “We suspect someone is being safeguarded…Opposition is not politicising the issue. We are raising women’s safety issues,” she told NDTV.

The ruling DMK government has been facing challenges as its allied party, the VCK, also submitted a notice to the Speaker to discuss the issues surrounding the Anna University sexual assault case.

The incident took place on December 23, when a 19-year-old engineering student was allegedly sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus. The victim, in her complaint, said that the assailant had attacked her and her male friend, brutally assaulting the latter before dragging her into nearby shrubs.

One person, Gnanasekaran –  a roadside biryani vendor – was arrested shortly after the complaint was filed. 

AIADMK students’ wing members detained

AIADMK Students’ wing members held a protest outside Anna University on Monday morning. They distributed black bands to the students and public as a mark of support to the victim and to garner the attention of the state government to arrest the real accused, an AIADMK member said.

The students, however, were detained as they were denied permission to hold the protest.

They would be released later in the day, police said.

Another high drama in Tamil Nadu assembly 

Another high drama followed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly as Governor TN Ravi walked out of the inaugural session of the House, accusing DMK of disrespecting the Constitution by refusing to sing the National Anthem before the session convened.

“The Constitution of Bharat and the National Anthem were once again insulted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today. Respecting the National Anthem is among the first Fundamental Duty as enshrined in our Constitution. It is sung in all the state legislatures at the beginning and the end of Governor’s address. Today on the arrival of the Governor to the House only Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung,” the Raj Bhavan said in a post on X.

It added that while the Governor “respectfully reminded” the House to play the national anthem, they “cussedly refused”.

“It is a matter of grave concern. Not to be a party to such brazen disrespect to the Constitution and the National Anthem, Governor in deep anguish left the House,” the post read.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly reportedly has a tradition of beginning and ending the session with the national anthem.

The Governor also did not deliver the customary address to the Assembly.

This is not the first time that the Governor has walked out of the Assembly and refused to deliver the address. In 2023, dramatic scenes played out in the Assembly when TN Ravi skipped parts of the official speech prepared by the DMK. He did not mention parts of the address that mentioned leaders such as Periyar, BR Ambedkar, K Kamaraj, CN Annadurai, and K Karunanidhi.

Chennai:

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi refused to deliver his customary address to the Assembly today and walked out in protest of the National Anthem not being sung at the beginning of the address. As per tradition, the state anthem Tamil Thai Valthu is sung when the House meets and the National Anthem at the end. But Governor Ravi has taken exception to this norm and said the national anthem should be sung at both times.

“The Constitution of Bharat and the National Anthem were once again insulted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today. Respecting the National Anthem is among the first Fundamental Duty as enshrined in our Constitution. It is sung in all the state legislatures at the beginning and the end of Governor’s address,” the Raj Bhavan said in a statement after the Governor walked out today. “Today on arrival of Governor to the House only Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung. Governor respectfully reminded the House of its Constitutional Duty and fervently appealed to the Hon’ble Chief Minister who is the Leader of the House and the Hon’ble Speaker for singing the National Anthem. However, they cussedly refused. It is a matter of grave concern. Not to be a party to such brazen disrespect to the Constitution and the National Anthem, Governor in deep anguish left the House,” the Raj Bhavan added.

In response, Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a post on X that the Governor had made it a custom to violate the Assembly’s tradition and called his actions “childish”. “According to the Constitution, it is a tradition of legislative democracy for the state governor to read the government’s address at the beginning of the year! He has made it his custom to violate it @rajbhavan_TN. It is childish that the governor, who has cut out what was there and added what was not, has gone without reading it this time,” he said, referring to passages skipped by the Governor in his earlier speeches in Assembly.

“The Governor’s actions in continuously insulting the people of Tamil Nadu, the government elected by them, and the century-old Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly are unbecoming of the position he holds. Why should someone who is unwilling to perform their political and legal duties remain in office is the question on everyone’s mind!” he added.

After the Governor walked out, Assembly Speaker M Appavu delivered the customary address that was to be read by the Governor.

This is not the first time the Raj Bhavan and the DMK government have sparred over the custom in Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Last February, the Governor had refused to deliver the customary address to the Assembly and said the draft had “numerous passages with misleading claims far from truth”. The Raj Bhavan also said that the National Anthem must be shown due respect and played both at the beginning and end of the Governor’s address.

In 2022, R N Ravi refused to read parts of the speech that had the names of BR Ambedkar, Periyar, CN Annadurai besides the phrase ‘Dravidian Model’ and some references to law and order in Tamil Nadu. He had then walked out even without waiting for the national anthem after the House adopted a resolution to record only the official speech and not the Governor’s version.

Ever since he took over as Tamil Nadu Governor in 2021, Mr Ravi has had frosty ties with the MK Stalin-led state government. The DMK government has accused him of acting like a BJP spokesperson and blocking Bills and appointments. The Governor has said the Constitution empowers him to withhold his assent to legislation. The dispute between the Raj Bhavan and state government has also reached the Supreme Court and Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Supreme Court and Madras High Court have held that Governors ought to function on the aid and advice of the cabinet.