 "High drama in TN Assembly: Governor walks out over national anthem dispute")
The first day of the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s 2025 session began with high drama. For the second consecutive year, Governor R N Ravi skipped his usual speech and left the Assembly within minutes of his arrival. The Governor accused Chief Minister M K Stalin and the Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly of deliberately refusing to sing the National Anthem.
A statement from the Governor’s office explained that when he arrived at the assembly, only ‘Tamil Tai Vazhdu’, the Tamil Nadu state anthem, was sung. The National Anthem, which is usually played on such occasions, was not performed.
Minutes after walking out, the Governor’s office released a statement accusing the Tamil Nadu government of disrespecting the Constitution by not singing the National Anthem at the start of the session.
Raj Bhavan says ‘grave concern’
In a social media post on X, Raj Bhavan Tamil Nadu wrote, “Today on the arrival of the Governor to the House, only Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu was sung. Governor respectfully reminded the House of its Constitutional Duty and fervently appealed to the Hon’ble Chief Minister who is the Leader of the House and the Hon’ble Speaker for singing the National Anthem. However, they cussedly refused. It is a matter of grave concern. Not to be a party to such brazen disrespect to the Constitution and the National Anthem, the Governor in deep anguish left the House.”
The Congress and DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) parties also protested the Governor’s act while the Assembly speaker read out the translated version of the Governor's address. Tamil Nadu Congress president K Selvaperunthagai said, “The Governor is against the people of Tamil Nadu and the police. He doesn’t accept any resolutions from the assembly.”
Protest over sexual assault case in Anna Univeristy
The first day of the Assembly session also witnessed the ruckus on the issues of a sexual assault case in Anna University. In a protest, the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) members held placards that read “Who’s the sir?” while demanding justice for the survivor of the Anna University sexual assault case. Speaker M Appavu ordered the removal of the AIADMK members. PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) and BJP also walked out over the Anna University issue.