TN Assembly: Nobody besides 234 members can air their views inside House, says Speaker Appavu

CHENNAI: Seeking to up his ante against Governor R N Ravi for exiting the House without delivering a word of the speech prepared by the state government, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M Appavu said that none other than the 234 members elected by the people to the Assembly have the right to air their views inside the House.

Talking to media persons in the Assembly secretariat, Appavu said that the governor has been given the right to read out the text prepared by the state government in the House. “No one has the right to express views in the House. Only the 234 members elected by the people can air views in the House. Others don’t have the right. He is citing it as an excuse because he is not interested in reading out the speech,” Appavu said, reminding the Raj Bhavan that the governor must have discharged his constitutional duty of reading out the text prepared by the state government under Article 176 of the Constitution.

Clarifying that the tradition of the TNLA since the days of Madras Presidency was being followed till date, the Speaker said that when the House adopted a resolution for recalling former governor Chenna Reddy during the chief ministership of Jayalalithaa in 1995, the governor delivered his address in the House later in February 1996.

“Also, the day the governor delivers his address is not counted as a day of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly being in session,” Appavu added. Asked if the governor sought corrections when he invited him, the speaker said, “He cannot tell me that. An elected government and the cabinet decide and hands over the text to him. As per tradition, he must address the first session of the year. That is a tradition and also a culture of Tamil Nadu. He was cordial and hospitable. So are we. You (media) must tell me if it is fair (on his part) to continuously act in violation of the Constitution of India.”

On the governor raising the national anthem issue, the Speaker clarified, “There is a tradition. Does the Constitution specify anywhere that the House must be conducted on a particular schedule when the governor turns up to deliver his address? This governor has done it thrice. If the same governor continues again, we will go and invite him respectfully. It is his choice to decide on reading or not reading the text.” Recalling the conduct of the Telangana Assembly without the governor’s address during Tamizhisai Soundararajan’s governorship, Appavu wondered, “The state and Assembly still remain. TNLA assembly would only function like this. Whoever wins and forms government, the same will continue.”