Jan 6 TN Assembly session: Is Guv's address pushed for next on agenda?

CHENNAI: The 2025 maiden session of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly will begin at the Assembly Secretariat here on January 6.

According to a notification issued by the State Assembly secretary K Srinivasan on Friday, "The session of the Assembly would be convened at the Assembly Hall in the State Secretariat at 9.30 am on January 6. The Governor will deliver his address at that time." The notification issued by the Assembly secretariat on this occasion was starkly different compared to similar notifications circulated in the past.

Assembly notifications would usually state that the session would begin with the customary address of the Governor. This time, the Assembly secretariat notification specifically stated that the session would be convened and the Governor would speak then. The Governor would deliver his Assembly address in the backdrop of a face-off between the Raj Bhavan and the State government over the appointment of vice-chancellors of universities in the State.

The Assembly communique was circulated barely a couple of days after Governor R N Ravi advised the State government to recall its earlier notification issued for constituting a select committee for identifying the V-C of Annamalai University without the inclusion of a UGC representative.

The Governor's address has been a political talking point in the State ever since incumbent Ravi read out the speech in January 2023 after omitting certain portions of the text prepared by the State government.