Governors should avoid talking about politics: TN BJP chief Annamalai
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Chennai: K. Annamalai, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief of Tamil Nadu, has emphasized that Governors should refrain from making political statements.
Speaking to the media on July 5, Annamalai expressed his view that Governors should not engage in frequent media briefings as it could set a ‘wrong precedent’.
He was responding to a journalist's question regarding the contrasting approach of Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundarrajan, who frequently meets the press, and his Tamil Nadu counterpart, RN Ravi, who does not.
Annamalai stated that while he would be pleased if the Tamil Nadu Governor interacted with the media to expose the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), it would be inappropriate for him to do so.
“I would be happy if the Tamil Nadu Governor meets the press because he would expose the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. But he should not do that. A Governor must only discharge the duties assigned to him by the Constitution. Even if I am from the ruling party, I would advise the Governor to avoid talking about politics as it would set a wrong precedent”, he said.
According to Annamalai, Governors should solely focus on fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities.
Even as a member of the ruling party, he advised the Governor to refrain from discussing politics in order to maintain the integrity of the office. He added that Governors could give interviews to print media perhaps once a year, or once in six months, but not more often than that.
Further expressing his opposition to Governors making political statements, Annamalai said, “There is a difference between the BJP’s criticism of the DMK and the Governor’s criticism. If the Governor has genuine criticism [against the ruling party], it could be raised in the Assembly during his customary address.”
The BJP leader added that even though it would help their party if the Governor went public with his criticism of the DMK government, he was still against the idea, given the political ramifications.
Annamalai's remarks followed a recent conflict between the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and Governor RN Ravi over the Governor's decision to dismiss Minister V Senthil Balaji from the state cabinet following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam.
