MK Stalin Seeks Constitutional Amendment To Scrap Guv's Address In Opposition-Ruled States

(MENAFN- IANS) Chennai, Jan 20 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin has said that his government will seek a constitutional amendment to do away with the requirement of the Governor's address in states governed by Opposition parties, calling the practice increasingly redundant and disruptive to democratic functioning.

The statement came after a dramatic episode in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, where Governor R. N. Ravi walked out of the House without delivering the customary address at the start of the session.

The Governor exited after differences with the State government over established Assembly protocol, triggering a fresh round of confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the elected government.

In response, the Assembly passed a resolution - invoking a relaxation under Rule 17 - treating the government-prepared text of the Governor's address as having been formally read.

Chief Minister Stalin later took to social media to argue that the incident underscored the need for structural reform.

“We will demand a constitutional amendment to remove the necessity of the Governor's address in all states ruled by Opposition parties,” he said.

Stalin contended that the Governor's refusal to read the address would not erase or conceal the achievements of the Dravidian Model government over the past four years, nor would it deny citizens the benefits of its welfare and development programmes.

The government, he asserted, had a constitutional mandate to place its policy vision before the legislature, irrespective of gubernatorial objections. In a strongly worded post, the Chief Minister accused the Governor of creating avoidable disruptions by disregarding the Constitution, the will of the people expressed through an elected government, and the authority of the legislature.

Such actions, he said, amounted to obstructing public welfare initiatives and undermining cooperative federalism.

Notably, Stalin also informed the House that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would take the lead in mobilising like-minded political parties across the country to push for a constitutional amendment early this year.

With the backing of Opposition-ruled states, the DMK plans to build a national consensus to reconsider the relevance of the Governor's address - an inherited convention that, the Chief Minister argues, has become a recurring flashpoint rather than a unifying constitutional practice.

The move is expected to add a new dimension to the ongoing debate on the role of Governors and Centre-State relations in India's federal structure.

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