CM Stalin not to attend Governor Ravi's Independence Day tea party: TN govt
As per a government press release, the governor has been “acting against the interests of Tamil Nadu people”
CM M.K. Stalin declines governor R.N. Ravi’s Independence Day 'At Home' tea invite
Ministers to boycott upcoming university convocations as symbolic protest
Dispute rooted in stalled legislation, pending VC appointments, and legal battles
In what has become an annual tradition in its own right, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin will once again give the Raj Bhavan tea party a miss this Independence Day. The state government confirmed on Thursday that the CM will not be attending controversial governor R.N. Ravi’s 'At Home' reception, a post-flag-hoisting ritual meant to showcase bonhomie between constitutional functionaries — though in Tamil Nadu, such displays have been in short supply.
The official reason? According to the government’s press release, the governor has been “acting against the interests of Tamil Nadu people”, with a consistency that even his harshest critics might call remarkable.
The boycott won’t stop with Stalin. On the CM’s advice, state higher education minister Govi Chezhian will also skip convocation ceremonies at Alagappa and Tiruvalluvar universities on 18 and 19 August. The symbolic snub is meant to underline what the DMK government says is the governor’s systematic obstruction of state policies and higher education administration.
The friction between Fort St. George and Raj Bhavan is hardly new. Since taking office, Ravi has clashed repeatedly with the DMK dispensation over legislative assent, the wording of Assembly speeches, and the broader interpretation of his role.
The latest flashpoint revolves around the Kalaignar University Bill — intended to set up a new state university in Kumbakonam — which the Assembly passed and sent to him for approval. Instead of granting assent, the governor forwarded it to the President of India, a move the government says was purely to “cause delay”.
Matters escalated when a BJP functionary challenged several state university legislations in the Madras High Court, leading to a stay order. Rather than take a neutral stance, the state alleges, Ravi filed a plea supporting the BJP petitioner’s position — a gesture that, in the DMK’s telling, confirmed his “political partisanship”.
The government warns that these disputes have tangible consequences: multiple universities are without vice-chancellors, a leadership vacuum that could affect thousands of students. The DMK frames this as not merely a procedural quibble, but a direct risk to the state’s higher education system.
The governor’s office has in the past defended such interventions as being in line with constitutional responsibilities, though critics — and not just in Tamil Nadu — argue that several governors across India have been overstepping their ceremonial mandates, particularly in Opposition-ruled states. In recent years, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal have all seen similarly frosty CM–governor relations, complete with boycotts of ceremonial functions.
For now, Raj Bhavan will have to make do without DMK company on 15 August. Allies of the ruling party, including the Congress and the Left, have also announced their absence from the reception. Independence Day in Tamil Nadu, it seems, will once again be celebrated in two parallel universes: one with polite tea and biscuits at the governor’s residence, and another where the state’s elected leadership prefers to sip its dissent.