DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi on Tuesday alleged that Governor R.N. Ravi had “deliberately and with ulterior motive” rejected the State government’s recommendation to appoint former DGP C. Sylendra Babu as Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC).
“When the government sends a recommendation, it is proper for the Governor to give his approval. He has rejected it purely due to politics. He should explain the reason behind his ulterior motive,” Mr. Bharathi told reporters here.
‘In ex-CM’s footsteps’
He claimed that the government, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, had decided to appoint Mr. Babu as the TNPSC chairman as he was particular about giving representation to a community. “In recommending the name of Mr. Babu, Mr. Stalin had followed the footsteps of our leader Kalaignar (late Karunanidhi), who had ensured the selection of candidates of 84 communities that could not get a representation in the government through Group I services,” he said.
According to him, Karunanidhi had ensured the appointment of a candidate from the Scheduled Caste on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the Madras High Court.
“The system of Collegium was not in place at that time. He recommended Justice Varadharajan for the post of the judge of Madras High Court. It was done by superseding 11 candidates. Mr. Varadharajan later became a judge of the Supreme Court,” he said.
‘Provoking the people’
Accusing the Governor of provoking the people of Tamil Nadu by using the name “Madras” instead of “Chennai” and “his refusal to refer to the State as Tamil Nadu”, Mr. Bharathi said Mr. Ravi should keep in mind the idea of social justice and clear the name of Mr. Babu, “who had performed well and earned the goodwill of the people”.
“There are a lot of irregularities in the TNPSC, and they were proved in the courts. The government wants to set right these irregularities by appointing Mr. Babu,” he contended.
