Governor Ravi’s fresh walkout: 13 reasons why he refused to read Stalin govt’s assembly address

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin with Governor RN Ravi (File image)

• Governor RN Ravi walked out of Tamil Nadu Assembly, skipping inaugural address
• He cited protocol breaches and false claims in the government's prepared speech.
• Governor skips address for third year in a row

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Tamil Nadu witnessed yet another constitutional flashpoint on Tuesday when Governor RN Ravi exited the State Legislative Assembly without delivering the customary inaugural address of the government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The walkout, which followed a tense exchange over protocol and content, marked the third consecutive year that the Governor declined to read the address prepared by the elected government.

A detailed press release later laid out thirteen separate grounds on which the Governor said he could not proceed with the speech.

These reasons ranged from procedural objections inside the House to sharp criticism of what he described as serious omissions and misleading claims in the government’s address.

Walkout over protocol, disruption and National Anthem

The immediate trigger for the walkout was the sequence of events inside the Assembly. The Governor claimed he was repeatedly prevented from speaking, alleging that “the microphone was repeatedly switched off and he was not allowed to speak.”

He also objected to the manner in which the proceedings were conducted, stating that his demand for the National Anthem to be played after the Tamil Anthem was not accepted by Speaker Appavu.

This, he said, amounted to a constitutional breach. In his list of objections, the Governor said, “National Anthem was yet again insulted and the Fundamental Constitutional Duty was disregarded.”

Similar objections had been raised by him in previous years as well. In both 2024 and 2025, Ravi had either skipped or walked out of the address, citing comparable concerns over protocol, including the absence of the National Anthem.

However, beyond the immediate disruption, the Governor’s note made it clear that his deeper disagreement lay with the substance of the speech prepared by the DMK government.

Contentious claims, ignored crises

In the press release, Raj Bhavan accused the government of presenting a speech that glossed over what the Governor described as grave social, economic and administrative challenges facing Tamil Nadu.

The Governor said the address contained “numerous unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements,” while sidestepping issues that, in his view, directly affect citizens.

One of his strongest criticisms related to investment claims. The speech, he said, projected large figures that did not reflect reality.

According to the Governor, “the claim that the state attracted huge investments to the tune of over Rs 12 lakh crore is far from the truth.”

He added that many memoranda of understanding had not translated into real investment and that data showed the state slipping in terms of foreign direct investment rankings.

The Governor also accused the government of ignoring rising social distress, particularly crimes, suicides, drug abuse and governance failures at the grassroots level. He argued that the absence of these concerns from the address made it impossible for him to endorse it by reading it in the Assembly.

Here are the thirteen reasons listed by Governor RN Ravi, as outlined in the Raj Bhavan statement:

1. The microphone was repeatedly switched off and he was not allowed to speak.

2. The speech contains numerous unsubstantiated claims and misleading statements, while several crucial issues troubling the people were ignored.

3. The claim that the state attracted investments of over Rs 12 lakh crore is far from the truth; many MOUs remain on paper and actual investment is only a fraction, with Tamil Nadu slipping in FDI rankings.

4. Women’s safety issues were totally ignored, despite an alarming rise of over 55% in POCSO rape cases and more than 33% increase in incidents of molestation.

5. Rampant prevalence of narcotics and drugs and a sharp rise in drug abuse among youth, including school students, was casually bypassed, even though over 2,000 mostly young people died by suicide in one year due to drug abuse.

6. Atrocities against Dalits and sexual violence against Dalit women are sharply increasing, yet this was completely bypassed.

7. Around 20,000 people died by suicide in a single year, nearly 65 every day, making Tamil Nadu “the Suicide Capital of India,” but this did not concern the government enough to find mention.

8. There is a steady decline in educational standards and widespread mismanagement, with over 50% faculty positions lying vacant for years, a crisis that was totally ignored.

9. Thousands of village panchayats are defunct as elections have not been held for years, denying crores of people their grassroots democratic rights, in violation of constitutional spirit.

10. Several thousand temples are without boards of trustees and are directly administered by the state, with court directions on restoration and preservation of ancient temples remaining unimplemented for over five years.

11. MSMEs are under severe stress due to visible and invisible costs, and despite vast potential, Tamil Nadu has only about four million MSMEs compared to over 55 million nationally, a concern not mentioned at all.

12. There is widespread discontent among lower-rung employees across sectors, who are restive and frustrated, with no indication in the speech on how their grievances would be addressed.

13. National Anthem was yet again insulted and the Fundamental Constitutional Duty was disregarded.

The episode has once again intensified the ongoing confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the elected government, raising questions about constitutional conventions, federal balance, and the limits of gubernatorial discretion.