Amid the election season, the Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for his refusal to re-induct a DMK leader as minister despite a pause on his conviction by the SC. In strong remarks, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that the governor was “defying the Supreme Court” and asked the Centre, “If the governor does not follow the Constitution, what does the government do?” Mr Ravi’s refusal to appoint Mr Ponmudi as minister is the latest in a series of face-offs between his office and the MK Stalin government after he took over as the Tamil Nadu governor in 2021. The DMK government has repeatedly accused him of creating hurdles in its work.
Like Mr Ravi, several other governors appointed during the BJP rule have harassed the opposition-ruled governments in the states. The elected governments are facing hurdles in implementing their programmes and policies due to the hostile behaviour of governors appointed by the central government. This is hurting the federal structure of India. The BJP should stop using the office of the governor to harass the opposition-ruled states. The Indian democracy will suffer in the long run. The SC has rapped the knuckles of the Tamil Nadu governor and hopefully, this will be a lesson for others.