Governors also have the right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India, and no one can stop them from expressing their views, Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan, said in Tiruchi, on Saturday.
Ms. Soundararajan’s statement while speaking to reporters, comes in the backdrop of Governor R.N. Ravi’s recent criticism that the ‘Dravidian Model’, being projected by the present government, was a political slogan and an expired ideology that was against the idea of one India.
The position of the Governor was established under the Constitution of India, she said. “Those who demand the abolition of the post of Governor now, should have refrained from entering into the Raj Bhavan and giving petitions to the Governor when they were in the Opposition,” she said.
Responding to a question about Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s political statements, she said, “No one can stop us [Governors] from expressing our views, including on politics, as we also have the right to freedom of speech and expression like everyone.”
A few political parties from Tamil Nadu with a vested motive had staged a demonstration in Puducherry against JIPMER, which has been functioning primarily to cater to the healthcare needs of the poor and marginal sections of the society, free of cost, Ms. Soundararajan, who is also Lt Governor of Puducherry, said.
Earlier, Ms. Soundararajan unveiled the statue of K. Santhanam, founder of Shrimati Indira Gandhi College, at the college campus and paid floral tributes to his portrait. She said the National Education Policy gives equal importance to improve education and nutrition in the country, but even then, a few States, including Tamil Nadu, have not implemented the policy. She said students should plan and execute their day-to-day work properly without stress and appealed to them to practise yoga every day, to have good physical and mental health.
