News Analysis India

Tag: RN Ravi

  • DMK moves Bill in Rajya Sabha to fix two-month time limit for Governors to decide on Bills

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: A day after Chief Minister MK Stalin strongly took up the delay being caused by Governor RN Ravi in forwarding the Bill seeking exemption from NEET for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu to the President, DMK MP P Wilson on Friday introduced a private member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha to amend Article 200 of the Constitution setting a two-month time limit for Governors to decide on Bills.

    “Some of the Governors are impeding the functioning of democratically elected Governments by acting as stumbling blocks in processing the Bills passed by the Legislative Assemblies. They sit over the Bills indefinitely and some Governors are even usurping the powers of the President, passing unwarranted comments while returning the Bill to the Legislatures. The returning of the NEET Bill in our state is one such act of a Governor,” Wilson told The New Indian Express.

    The Bill introduced by the DMK MP said the absence of a time limit in Article 200 gives the Governor unbridled power to delay the fate of the Bill. Thus, non-prescription of a time limit is an impediment to the welfare of the people. Governors taking a long time to decide on the Bills defeat the will of the people since the State Legislature represents the mandate of the people.

    Pointing out that as the Constitutional Head of the State, the Governor owes a responsibility to the people of the state, the Bill said, “It is trite in law that any constitutional authority must perform its duties within a reasonable time frame.  However, in the recent past, we have seen several instances of Governors sitting over Bills passed by the State Legislatures for an inordinate amount of time, without deciding one way or the other,” the Bill explained.

    “All Bills passed by the State Legislature are for the welfare of the people of the state. The state government’s functioning cannot indirectly be curtailed and rendered inutile by the actions of the Governor, a Union appointee. That infringes the balance of power between the Union and states established by the Constitution,” the Bill added.

    Meanwhile, DMK mouthpiece Murasoli, in its editorial, took exception to a further delay being caused by Governor RN Ravi in forwarding the NEET Bill to the President. “The State Assembly has passed this Bill for the second time and it is pending before the Governor nearly for around two months. When Chief Minister MK Stalin called on him on March 15 and urged him to forward the Bill to the President, the Governor had assured him that it would be done. However, till now, it has not been forwarded to the President,” the editorial said.

    The editorial of Murasoli further said the way the Governor delays the NEET Bill goes against the Cabinet system being followed in India. “The Governors cannot function in a manner similar to what prevailed during the Dual Rule system in the 1920s,” the editorial added.

  • RN Ravi resigns as Naga interlocutor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi Wednesday resigned as the interlocutor for the Naga peace talks, the home ministry said, adding his resignation has been accepted with immediate effect.

    Ravi had been holding peace negotiations with the Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM since 2014.

    “Shri R N Ravi’s resignation as interlocutor for the Naga peace process, submitted by him today, has been accepted with immediate effect by Government of India,” a home ministry spokesperson said.

    Ravi was appointed the governor of Nagaland in July 2019 and he was continuing his role as the interlocutor on behalf of the Central government.

    However, the NSCN-IM has refused to hold talks with him from last year, accusing him of trying to sabotage the peace process.

    Ravi was transferred as the governor of Tamil Nadu early this month.

    The Central government has already engaged former special director of the Intelligence Bureau, A K Mishra, for holding peace parleys with the Naga groups.

    Mishra has resumed talks with the Naga rebel group.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Nagaland counterpart Neiphiu Rio also met NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah in Dimapur on Tuesday.

    Ravi had signed a framework agreement with Muivah on August 3, 2015, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a major step towards the final settlement.

    The framework agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years with the first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland.

    However, there has been no progress in the peace talks as the NSCN-IM has sought a separate flag and constitution for Nagaland, which was rejected by the Central government.

  • Governor hails TN govt efforts in tackling Covid; vows to function within parameters of Constitution

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi after assuming office has hailed the Tamil Nadu government efforts in tackling the Covid pandemic while vowing to function within the parameters of the Constitution.

    Addressing reporters after being sworn in, the Governor said, “It is too premature to say anything on the performance of the state government. But I am sure the government is doing well because of the way it handled the Covid pandemic. The infection has come down.”

    Ignoring the charges being made against his appointment to the gubernatorial post, the Governor told reporters, “Look, the slate of our relationship is absolutely new and clean. My effort will be to make it as beautiful as possible in days to come.” 

    This comes as a section of political parties opposed his appointment as Governor and alleged that there is an ulterior motive behind his appointment since he had held high-profile positions in the police department and with the Intelligence Bureau.

    Reacting to a query on whether he would be visiting the districts as his predecessor Banwarilal Purohit did, the Governor said, “Just minutes ago I was sworn in. One thing I know, this place has a popular government mandated by the people and the governance is the responsibility of the government. The Governor is to function within the parameters of the Constitution. I will try my best to keep that in mind.”

    Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Ravi said, “I am delighted, indeed feeling humble to be in the land and amidst the people which is one of the most ancient cultures and civilization in the world.  Our country has benefited enormously from the intellectual, spiritual, and artistic wealth of the place and the political wisdom. In fact, this place and the people have influenced and shaped to a great deal the very idea of India.  I am looking forward to being in the service of the people to the best of my ability and the space that the Constitution gives me.”

  • No RN Ravi in the mix, Nagaland peace talks to resume

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: After nearly two years, talks between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Issak-Muivah faction) and the Centre government is set to resume on September 20 in Dimapur. Talks from the government will be led by AK Mishra. This indicates that Naga talks interlocutor RN Ravi, who was recently appointed Tamil Nadu governor, has been sidelined. The Naga group had complained against him to PM Narendra Modi.

    The last formal talks between the NSCN (IM) and Ravi took place in January, 2020. After that, the two sides held an informal meeting in New Delhi in August last year. Ravi did not attend that meeting. Ravi, who continues to be the interlocutor in Naga peace talks, is not going to be present in this meeting, sources told this newspaper. They added that Mishra, a former special director of the Intelligence Bureau, is likely to be appointed the new interlocutor of Naga peace talks.

    The development comes after the Centre signed a ceasefire agreement with the NSCN faction led by Niki Sumi. NSCN-IM questioned the government on the September 8 agreement with the Sumi group and claimed it is the only authentic political organisation representing the Naga people. It said that signing of ceasefire agreements with “its surrogate factions” was a futile exercise.

    Talks ran into trouble after Ravi allegedly circulated a ‘doctored’ version of the framework agreement signed in 2015 between Issak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and Ravi in the presence of PM Modi. In between, there were bitter exchanges between Ravi and NSCN-IM. Following that, Home Minister Amit Shah deputed then Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio and a Naga social activist to meet Muivah in Delhi to understand their grievances.

    It is learnt that the trio including Sarma, who is believed to be a trusted lieutenant of Shah, convinced the latter that Ravi should be relived of his responsibilities as Naga interlocutor. After the feedback given by the trio, Mishra was roped in with a senior serving IB official to continue the engagements with NSCN-IM. They are believed to have held informal meetings with the senior leadership of the insurgent group.

    For the last year, Muivah has maintained that only Ravi’s removal from the post of interlocutor would ensure that talks will proceed. “The NSCN had exercised much restraint against the systematic ultimatum issued by the representative of GoI (Ravi) since July, 2019, which was replaced during the talks on October 31, 2019. The representative of GoI has acted very irresponsible and disrespectful (sic) to the Naga talk teams during the talks on January 30 in Dimapur, referring to the NSCN proposal submitted on January 18 as stupid and contaminated,” stated Muivah’s February letter to the PM.

  • Critics happy as RN Ravi moved out of Nagaland as TN governor

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Nagaland government and insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) may feel relieved that Governor RN Ravi has been moved out of the state.

    For Ravi, his appointment as the Tamil Nadu Governor is no less than a promotion given that he will now serve in a more important state.

    He will continue to serve also as the Centre’s interlocutor in the Naga peace talks – at least for now. Earlier, sections of the Naga society and the NSCN-IM had demanded his replacement in that position.

    If the Nagaland government was unhappy with him for his alleged interference in its affairs, the NSCN-IM was livid with him over the manner in which he was handling the “Naga political issue”.

    It was purportedly based on the Governor’s instruction that the state’s then Chief Secretary had issued instructions on July 7 last year whereby all administrative heads and heads of departments were directed “to obtain information in a self-declaration form from all government servants under his/her department/office regarding (their) family members and relatives in the underground (read insurgent) organisations.”

    In June that year, in a hard-hitting letter to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Ravi had expressed resentment over “unrestrained depredations by over half a dozen organised armed gangs, brazenly running their respective so-called governments.”

    ALSO READ  | New TN Governor RN Ravi has Intelligence background

    His reference was to the parallel governments which the state’s myriad extremist groups run.

    Incidentally, Ravi had become the toast of the town in the aftermath of the Centre’s signing of the Framework Agreement in 2015 with the NSCN-IM – 18 years since the outfit had entered into a ceasefire. He was accorded a grand welcome by the Nagas following his appointment as the Governor of Nagaland in July 2019.

    However, his relationship with the NSCN-IM – that he has negotiated with for the past many years – soured last year for allegedly twisting the content of the Framework Agreement and cosying up to its rival groups.

    The NSCN-IM had slammed him for reflecting a “divisive” agenda while commemorating Nagaland Statehood Day last year to “protect the 16-Point Agreement at all costs”. It has long ago rejected the 16-Point Agreement which led to Nagaland’s creation as a state.

    The outfit had once demanded his removal from the position of interlocutor alleging that the peace process was headed towards “a nauseating end” because of his “mischief”.

    The rebel group and the state government have not yet reacted to his fresh appointment. However, Chingwang Konyak, chief of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party which heads the government, said some people were happy while some others were dejected. He did not specify them.

    “He was the Governor of the state but he interfered in the affairs of a popular government. The government was not happy,” Konyak told The New Indian Express.