NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi has sparked another controversy after he asked students to chant “Jai Shri Ram” during an event in Madurai. The incident has drawn criticism from Congress, that has termed him a “propaganda master of the RSS and the BJP.”
He was addressing the students at Thiagarajar Engineering College on Saturday when he called upon the attendees to pay tribute to the Hindu God Ram. “I will say, and you will say- Jai Shri Ram,” Ravi said. His call was followed by the chants from the audience.
Congress MLA JMH Hassan Maulaana strongly condemned the governor’s comments, calling them deeply objectionable and accusing him of echoing the rhetoric of the RSS and BJP. He added that such statements were inappropriate and unworthy of the constitutional position held by Ravi.
“The Governor is occupying one of the highest posts in the country but he is speaking like a religious leader… He has become a propaganda master of the RSS and the BJP. See, this is not the way the Governor can act.” the MLA told ANI.
“What the TN Governor is doing is highly condemnable, he is acting like an RSS face in Tamil Nadu and spreading its ideology. The position he holds is a constitutional post, so he has to remain neutral,” he added.
The Congress leader also pointed out that governor Ravi had previously faced sharp criticism from the Supreme Court, which, he noted, had delivered a landmark ruling against the governor for acting in an unconstitutional, unlawful, and improper way by failing to act on ten bills passed by the state legislature.
In a landmark ruling on Saturday, the Supreme Court approved ten state bills that had been held up without the governor’s assent. Governor Ravi had withheld the bills, reserving them for the President’s consideration. The Court went a step further by setting clear timelines—giving the Governor one month and the President three months to take action on such bills.