A day after Governor R.N. Ravi made remarks about investments and education in Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, said he suspected that such observations were being made to “divert” people from “sensitive” issues.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat in Chennai to counter the charges of the Governor, Mr. Thennarasu, talking about education, cited the NIRF rankings released on Monday that showed higher educational institutions in Tamil Nadu had fared better than those in other States.
In reference to the observations made by the Governor about T.N. delegations visiting foreign countries and his contention that this may not help in bringing in investments, the Minister said the Governor was using the Raj Bhavan to make “political comments.” Mr. Thennarasu went on to point out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his term as Gujarat Chief Minister had visited China, Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand and wondered whether the Governor maintained these views over Mr. Modi’s visits too.
The State Finance Minister said it was up to the BJP to question the Governor’s remarks on such foreign visits. Mr. Thennarasu also reiterated that the Governor should not use the Raj Bhavan to make political comments. The Governor making such “false accusations” continuously was not acceptable, the Minister said.
