Governor RN Ravi Archives - Lokmarg

SC Questions TN Governor’s Conduct For Not Appointing K Ponmudy As Minister

By LokMarg 21st March 2024

The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the conduct of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over his decision to refuse to appoint K Ponmudy as a minister in the state cabinet and said that he had defied the order of the top court.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, made these observations while hearing the Tamil Nadu government’s plea challenging the Governor’s decision to refuse to appoint K Ponmudy as minister in the state cabinet.

The court, while adjourning the matter for tomorrow, also remarked that if it doesn’t hear anything in a positive manner over the issue, then it may pass the order with certain observations.

CJI noted that Ponmudy’s conviction has been stayed by the top court and in spite of that, the Tamil Nadu Governor is not allowing him to swear in. The top court remarked, “Attorney General, what is your Governor doing, Please tell the Governor that it is going to make some observations now.”

The Supreme Court said that after the top court stayed Ponmudy’s conviction, how could the governor say that, Ponmudy’s re-induction as the Minister would be against constitutional morality?

CJI Chandrachud said, “We are seriously concerned about the conduct of the Governor in this case. We did not want to say it out loud in court but you are now constraining us to say that aloud.”

The top court commented that the Governor is defying the Supreme Court of India. The bench also remarked that when a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court stays a conviction, the Governor has no business to tell us that this does not wipe off the conviction and observed that those who have advised the Governor have not advised him correctly. Now the Governor better be informed that when the Supreme Court of India stays a conviction, then law has to follow its course, the court said.

The court was dealing with the TN government’s plea against the Governor’s decision refusing to appoint Ponmudy as minister. In the plea, TN Government has urged the top court to issue directions to appoint K Ponmudy as a Member of Legislative Assembly as a Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Recently, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has refused to accept the recommendation of Chief Minister MK Stalin to appoint K Ponmudy as a minister after he was reinstated as an MLA.

The TN Government submitted that the letter of the Governor refusing to accede to Chief Minister’s request to appoint Ponmudy as the Higher Education Minister amounts to a blatant breach of Article 164(1) of the Constitution and is liable to be set aside. The TN Government said that the Governor is attempting to run a parallel government and is attempting to choose a minister as per his subjective assessment of suitability, which is impermissible.

Disqualified Tamil Nadu minister and DMK senior leader K Ponmudy was reinstated days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction and three-year jail sentence in a disproportionate asset case on March 13, 2024.

Reinstating Ponmudy, the state legislative assembly speaker, M Appavu, has said he will continue as a member of the Legislative Assembly. However, the Governor has expressed his inability to appoint Ponmudy as a minister again.

Notably, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption registered a case against Ponmudy and his wife, Visalakshi, in 2011.

Ponmudy was also the minister for higher education and mines during the DMK regime from 2006 to 2011. (ANI)

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Modi, TN Governor Plant ‘Rudraksha’ Saplings On Raj Bhavan Premises

By LokMarg 20th January 2024

On a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi planted saplings of Rudraksha along with Governor RN Ravi on the premises of Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Saturday.

“Hon’ble Prime Minister Thiru Narendra Modi planted saplings of holy #Rudraksha in the premises of Raj Bhavan, Chennai, today,” read a post on the official X handle of Raj Bhavan, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday.

Prime Minister Modi, who is currently observing an 11-day Anushthan till the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22, arrived in Tiruchirappalli on Saturday.

On his arrival to the city, Prime Minister Modi was accorded a warm reception by a big crowd as his cavalcade made its way out of the airport.

Acknowledging the cheering locals who chanted his name, PM Modi smiled and waved at them from his vehicle.

He also offered prayers at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Tiruchirappalli.

Also, during his visit, PM Modi sought blessings from an elephant named ‘Andal’ in the temple premises.

The jumbo was also pictured playing a mouth organ as PM Modi watched in amazement.

Located in Srirangam, Trichy, the temple ranks among the most ancient shrines in the country and finds a mention in various ancient texts, including the Puranas and the Sangam-era scriptures.

It is famous for its architectural grandeur and numerous iconic gopurams. The main deity worshipped here is Sri Ranganatha Swamy, a reclining form of Lord Vishnu.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled for a darshan at the Kothandaramaswamy Temple, Dhanushkodi on Sunday and will also perform a puja at the shrine. He will also visit Arichal Munai, which is said to be the place from where the ‘Ram Setu’ was built.

Continuing his routine over the last several days of visiting several temples and attending to the chanting of verses from the epic ‘Ramayana’ in various languages–Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu, PM Modi is scheduled to attend ‘Shri Ramayana Paryana’ at the Sri Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Temple on Sunday.

During the programme, eight different traditional Mandalis will recite the Sanskrit, Awadhi, Kashmiri, Gurumukhi, Assamese, Bengali, Maithili, and Gujarati Ramkathas (recounting the episode of Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya).

Prime Minister Modi has, over the last few days, visited several temples in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala ahead of the grand January 22 opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. (ANI)

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Cash-For-Jobs Scam: TN Governor Dismisses Jailed Minister Balaji

By LokMarg 29th June 2023

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday dismissed DMK leader jailed minister V Senthil Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect.

Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14 in a cash-for-jobs scam case.
“Minister V Senthil Balaji is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption including taking cash for jobs and money laundering…Under these circumstances, Governor has dismissed him from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect”, stated a release issued by the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu.

The release further stated, “Abusing his position as a Minister, he (Senthil Balaji) has been influencing the investigation and obstructing the due process of law and justice. He is in judicial custody in a criminal case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. Some more criminal cases against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal codes are being investigated by the State Police.”

The Minister for Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise in the MK Stalin government, Balaji, was arrested on June 14 and admitted to a government hospital in Chennai after he complained of chest pains.

He was allowed by the Madras High Court on June 15 to be shifted to a private hospital of his choice.

The Supreme Court, earlier this month, refused to interfere with the Madras High Court order allowing Balaji to be moved to a private hospital in Chennai and admitted a habeas corpus petition filed against his arrest. (ANI)

Means Parliamentary Democracy Is Dead: Chidambaram

By LokMarg 7th April 2023

Congress veteran and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday slammed Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over his “Bill is dead” remark, saying it means “Parliamentary Democracy is dead”.

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday, while interacting with the civil services aspirants, explained the role of the Governor in the Constitution, saying that he has the option to give assent or withhold a Bill passed by the Assembly, adding that the latter means that the “Bill is dead”.
In a tweet, Chidambaram said, “Governor, Tamil Nadu has given a strange & peculiar definition to the withholding of assent to Bills passed by the Legislature. He has said that it means the ‘Bill is dead’. Actually, when a Governor withholds assent for no valid reason, it means ‘Parliamentary Democracy is dead’.”

The Governor said “withholding” is a “decent language” used for rejecting a Bill.

Interacting with the civol services aspirants here, Ravi said the responsibility of the Governor is to protect the Constitution.

He also said the Governor looks into a Bill to check if it “transgresses the Constitutional limit” and if the state government has exceeded “its competence”.

“Our Constitution has created the position of Governor and defined his roles and responsibilities. The first and foremost responsibility of the Governor is to protect the Constitution of India because whether it is the Union or the State, each of these entities has to work according to the Constitution. How do you protect the Constitution? Suppose, a state makes a law that transgresses the Constitutional limit. In a legislature, a political party has a brute majority, let us say, they can pass any Bill,” he said.

“If it transgresses the Constitutional limit, the Bill passed by the Assembly does not become a law until the Governor assents to it. Assenting to is a constitutional responsibility. The Governor has to see if the Bill is exceeding the limit, and whether the state is exceeding its competence. If it does, then it is the responsibility of the Governor to not assent to the Bill,” Ravi added.

Explaining the procedure after a Bill, upon its passage, is forwarded by the Assembly to the Governor, Ravi said the latter has three options before him — assent, withhold or reserve the Bill for the President.

“The Constitution says that when a Bill passed by the Assembly is forwarded to the Governor for assent, the Governor has three options – assent, withhold the assent… Withholding does not mean that I am just holding it. Withholding has been defined by the Supreme Court by the Constitution Bench, withholding means the Bill is dead. It is a decent language used instead of using rejected. When you say withhold, it means the Bill is dead. Third, he reserves the Bill for the President,” the Tamil Nadu Governor said. (ANI)