Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday clarified that he had not moved any resolution “against Governor R.N. Ravi” in the Assembly, but a resolution was adopted to “retain the [prepared and approved] speech of the Governor” in the Assembly records, without any alterations.
In a response to a question featured in the ‘Ungalil Oruvan’ programme on whether he had backtracked from his position by attending the tea party hosted by the Governor on the Republic Day, the Chief Minister said what the Governor read on that day [in his customary address to the House] was not the speech prepared by the government and the resolution was adopted to retain it in full.
“The decorum of the House and the idea of democracy was upheld by the adoption of the resolution. In my response to the Governor’s address [where he skipped certain portions], I said I would work even beyond my capability to protect the values of the government elected by the people, to express the strength of the government conferred on us by the people and the values of the Assembly, which is more than 100 years old. This is my answer now. The tea party is a long tradition. I participated in it to protect the values of democracy. There is no compromise or backtracking,” he contended.
Asked about the prospects of the DMK alliance in the byelection to the Erode (East) Assembly constituency, he said the DMK government’s achievements, its implementation of welfare schemes, and the role of alliance parties would win not only the byelection but all the elections in the future.
Mr. Stalin, however, expressed his anguish over the circumstances that caused the byelection. “I was anguished by the state of mind of Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan when I visited Erode to share his grief. In politics, a son will get an opportunity if a father dies. But, Elangovan entered the fray because his son had died. He is contesting the elections with a heavy heart,” the Chief Minister said.
Asked what he had considered the happiest news, he said it was the decision of the Supreme Court to deliver judgment in regional languages (translated versions), including Tamil.
“Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has issued a direction. The DMK has been demanding making all regional languages, including Tamil, as the official languages of the nation. We have been saying that Tamil should be the language of the Madras High Court, and there should be a branch of the Supreme Court in Tamil Nadu. The decision of the Supreme Court to give judgment in Tamil is the first step in that direction,” he said.
Asked About the letter written by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud suggesting a nominee of the Union government in the Supreme Court Collegium and a state representative in each of the High Court Collegiums, Mr. Stalin said it was not a healthy trend.
He said it was the long-pending demand of many, including the DMK, that the judiciary, one of the important pillars of democracy, should have representatives from all communities.
“But it is not proper to nominate a representative of the Centre in the Collegium as it could interfere with the independence of the judiciary. At a time when the views of the State governments are not taken into consideration in the appointment of judges, the presence of a representative of the Centre in the Collegium, will not help the appointment of judges on the basis of social justice, not only in the High Courts, but also in the Supreme Court,” he added.
