TN Congress, Left parties, VCK, MDMK to boycott Guv Ravi's I-Day tea party

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai on Tuesday announced a boycott of the tea party set to be hosted by Governor R N Ravi on Independence Day "in protest of his actions against the Tamil people and the state government elected by them since the day he took over as the governor of the state."

DMK allies like the Left parties, the VCK, and the MDMK have also declared that they would skip the Governor's customary tea party at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai, on August 15.

Speaking about the reasons behind the tea party boycott this year, Selvaperunthagai cited the delay in the appointment of university vice-chancellors and the “unconstitutional” continuance of Ravi at the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan, despite the expiration of his term as state governor.

In a message posted on his ‘X’ social media handle, the Sriperumbudur MP thanked the governor for inviting him to the Independence Day tea party and said, “The dignity of democracy is being undermined by the governors who are being political and party oriented in their activities in Narendra Modi's regime to an extent never seen in the last seven decades.”

The state Congress chief also said that the impasse in the appointment of vice-chancellors in the state universities was delaying the graduation ceremony for students,

“Also, it is unconstitutional for the Governor to continue in office after the expiration of his tenure. Therefore, on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Congress, we are ignoring the tea party given by the Governor,” Selvaperunthagai declared.

The state Congress, along with the ruling DMK, had boycotted a tea party hosted by Ravi on Independence Day last year, too, condemning the delay in the Raj Bhavan's nod to the NEET exemption bill.

Accusing the Governor of acting as a mouthpiece of BJP, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said that he is trying to run a parallel government against the elected state government.

"Since the day RN Ravi assumed office as the State Governor in 2019, he has been engaging in abuse of power against the sentiments of the people and rejecting democratic systems. The democratic forces in the state have been conducting protests against his abuse of power, " he said, adding that his party had decided to boycott the Tea Party condemning his undemocratic actions.

VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan announced that his party decided to boycott the Governor's annual event due to his series of anti-Tamil Nadu activities. He thanked the Governor for inviting his party to the tea party to which all political party leaders are usually invited.

This year, the DMK and its allies - Congress, VCK, Left parties - had abstained from the Governor's Republic Day (Jan 26) high-tea party.