Tamil Nadu guv’s tribute to Savarkar on his birth anniversary fans row

Governor RN Ravi on Tuesday described Savarakar as an inspiration for building a united India while paying tributes on the Hindutva leader’s birthday anniversary. This comes months after Tamil Nadu speaker M Appavu accused the governor of being a descendant of Nathuram Godse and Savarkar after the latter refused to read the customary speech during the first assembly session in January.

“Humble tribute to the great son of Maa Bharati, Swatantraya Veer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, on his birth anniversary,” Ravi posted on X with a photo of his paying tributes at the Raj Bhavan in Ooty. “He was a staunch freedom fighter who suffered the most atrocious physical and mental torture at the hands of the British for over 10 years in Andaman Cellular jail and 16 years in Ratnagiri prison. He added that Savarkar was “a visionary nationalist leader who inspired countless freedom fighters whose sacrifices shall continue inspiring all the Indians for building a united, developed and strong Bharat with pride in her heritage.”

Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK has accused the governor of being an agent of the BJP and its ideological parents, RSS. “The governor is repeatedly showing that he is an agent of Hindutva,” DMK spokesperson A Saravanan told HT. “He is using his office to reiterate his ideology which goes against the oath he has taken. As an individual he can have his own beliefs and ideology, we have no problem with that. But when he is holding a constitutional post, he cannot openly profess his ideology. It is condemnable.”

Appavu was not available for a comment.

Earlier in January, the governor skipped his entire customary speech at the start of the budget session of state assembly, saying he disagreed with numerous passages on “moral and factual” grounds and walked out even as the speaker was reading out the Tamil version of his speech.

The speech running 48-pages long, which the governor refused to read, was critical of the BJP-led union government’s policies such as the goods and services tax (GST) that was impacting the state’s fiscal autonomy, central funds not being released for projects such as the Metro Rail’s phase 2 in Chennai, and the state’s stance to never allow the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The speech also highlighted Tamil Nadu’s achievements, welfare schemes and its economic growth. The speaker noted that though they are ideologically different, the Tamil Nadu government led by chief minister MK Stalin has been treating the office of the governor with respect and there would be no change in it. “The people of Tamil Nadu are not any lesser than those who follow the path of Godse and Savarkar,” the speaker had said at the time.