TN governor discusses development work in Coimbatore; opposition calls it interference by Centre

In a first, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday held a meeting with Coimbatore district administration officials to discuss the developmental works undertaken in the district even as the opposition parties dub it as a yet another attempt of the Centre’s interference.

On Wednesday, Purohit inspected the Gandhipuram bus stand in the textile city and took part in a cleaning drive as part of the Swachch Bharat Initiative. He also inspected e-toilets in the bus stand and also visited a residential society – Sunnyside Residency in the city. He also held a discussion with NGOs and resident welfare associations working on solid waste management. "I have carried out visits in Maharashtra and I felt they (people in that state) were the best in maintaining toilets and waste management. Now when I visit cities in Tamil Nadu I have changed my opinion," Purohit said addressing the discussion.

Breaking the convention of maintaining a distance in the state administration followed by the past Governors in Tamil Nadu, Purohit has chosen to hold a meeting with the Coimbatore district administration, civic body officials and police officers on the ongoing developmental works. What raised many eyebrows was the fact that even Municipal Administration Minister and senior AIADMK leader SP Velumani who hails from Coimbatore was not invited to the Tuesday’s meeting.

The Governor’s meeting was held amid the accusations from the opposition that Narendra Modi government at the centre is interfering in the administration of the state government led by the faction-ridden AIADMK.

Governor’s meeting evoked comparison with Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi who is known for making spot visits and holding review meetings with the officials. But the Congress government in Puducherry is strongly opposed to Bedi’s style of functioning calling it as gross interference in the day-to-day functioning of the elected government. Strangely, AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu seems to have no problem with the Governor’s meeting the state officials as several State Ministers supported Purohit.

State Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan and Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani on Tuesday said that the autonomy of the State would not be affected by such a meeting. “Such review meeting by the Governor will help improve the relationship with the Centre which would help in the progress of the state,” said Velumani.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said that the disease of Governor interfering in the elected government’s administration has spread to Tamil Nadu too. “There is nothing wrong with Governor visiting various places but taking unilateral decisions is wrong. The centre is trying to control the state government through the Governors and Lt Governors,” he said.

Asking the Governor from conducting any further such review meetings, Leader of Opposition and DMK working president MK Stalin said if the Governor was really interested in good administration, he should ask the Edappadi K Palanisami government to prove his majority in the floor of the House.

DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP and organizing secretary RS Bharathi accused the Modi government of trying to play a dirty game using Governor as a tool. He said the BJP wanted to undermine the elected government in Tamil Nadu like how they were doing in Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh. “When there is an elected government, as per the constitution, the Governor cannot act independently and he should act according to the state cabinet’s advice,” he noted.

Senior DMK leader said when the Governor planned such a meeting, Chief Minister should have condemned it right away and instructed the officials to stay away from it. “Chief Minister should have either condemned the Governor’s meeting or he should have resigned. But they don’t have the gut to oppose it as they are afraid of income tax raids,” he said, wondering whether Governor would have held such a meeting if former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was alive.

Meanwhile, a section of Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK) opposed the ‘unprecedented’ meeting chaired by the Governor with the officials and attempted to stage a black flag demonstration on Tuesday in front of Circuit House, where the meeting was in progress. However, police removed the activists, led by its General Secretary, K Ramakrishnan.

The choice of Coimbatore district for the first meeting itself shows that it was a political ploy by the BJP, said Ramakrishnan. In the BJP’s political scheme of thing, Coimbatore and Tirupur districts are their prime targets for their electoral growth in the state, he said, pointing to several visits of senior BJP leaders to Coimbatore in the recent times. “Governor is trying to politically help the BJP in the two districts by trying to create an impression that the developmental works are happening at the behest of him who is a representative of the union government,” he said.