3 months ago
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The Governorship of retired IPS serviceman R.N. Ravi successful Tamil Nadu lasting implicit 4 years, was among the astir tumultuous if not melodramatic and eventful tenures the State ever witnessed. From regularly walking retired from the Assembly to raising issues implicit the assignment of Vice-Chancellors to the State-run universities, Mr Ravi and the DMK authorities led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin were seldom connected the aforesaid page.
On Thursday evening, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Mr. Ravi arsenic the Governor of West Bengal and appointed Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to discharge the functions of Governor of Tamil Nadu.
The changeless hostility betwixt the Governor and the Chief Minister besides ranged betwixt the prime of Ministers successful Mr. Stalin’s Cabinet, the withholding of assent for respective Bills adopted by the State Legislative Assembly and seeking to play down the Dravidian ideology by terming it a specified “political slogan”. The discord besides played retired successful the unfastened adjacent implicit symbolism involving Tamil icons -- implicit the robe of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar and implicit associating Saint Vallalar with sanatana dharma.
At immoderate point, the tensions betwixt the Governor and the Chief Minister adjacent turned personal. Some unpleasant exchanges were made connected the societal media, successful which Mr. Stalin wondered if Mr. Ravi was the “Governor” oregon an “Aryan” and an agitated Mr. Ravi terming the CM’s comments “unfortunately cheap” and “racist.” Mr. Stalin, connected much than 1 occasion, took excavation astatine the Governor, by observing that Mr. Ravi’s continuing arsenic the Governor station was successful deed aiding the DMK enactment successful its electoral prospects.
The disagreements adjacent turned into a ineligible battle, erstwhile Mr. Stalin’s authorities moved the Supreme Court and went connected to triumph the State of Tamil Nadu Vs. Governor of Tamil Nadu case, considered 1 of the ineligible milestones successful the state favouring elected State governments. It would not beryllium an exaggeration to accidental that Governor Ravi was among the superior reasons for the DMK government’s existent tenure to represent the high-level committee connected the Union-State relations. The DMK government’s pioneering telephone successful advocating State autonomy lone grew louder during Mr. Ravi’s Governorship.
Though the DMK authorities differed with the Union authorities connected aggregate fronts, the disagreements with New Delhi were not arsenic dramatic, arsenic those with Governor Ravi and his bureau successful Guindy. While his predecessor Banwarilal Purohit maintained a strict tone, Mr. Ravi made his disagreements public, melodramatic and successful information political. The Governor station is often called the look of the Union authorities successful the State and Mr. Ravi lived it.
Mr Ravi had besides controversially ‘dismissed’ erstwhile Minister V Senthilbalaji from the Cabinet lone to support the determination successful abeyance connected the counsel of the Union Home Minister. He was erstwhile pulled up by the Supreme Court for refusing to re-induct K Ponmudy successful the Cabinet though the tribunal had suspended his condemnation successful a corruption case.
To his credit, Mr. Ravi brought successful important changes successful his sprawling authoritative residence. It was his thought that made the Union Home Ministry rename the Raj Bhavans arsenic the Lok Bhavans. In his tenure, the Lok Bhavan astatine Udhagamandalam successful the Nilgiris district, went beyond hosting VIPs and hosted meetings with Vice-Chancellors of State-run universities. When helium is the main impermanent successful convocations, academicians from institutions successful different States were invited to stock their ideas.
Mr. Ravi besides outlined the challenges facing the State often contending atrocities were committed against the Scheduled Castes and that determination were crimes against women. Mr. Ravi besides instituted awards to honour personalities successful ‘Social Service’ and ‘Environmental Protection’ categories. If astatine each determination was 1 spot wherever Mr. Ravi and Mr. Stalin stood together, it was the podium nether the nationalist emblem erstwhile they honoured the tricolour, overlooking their differences.
