Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday hit out at Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit’s statement that the governor is the titular head of the state, but the real power belongs to the chief minister.
“Amused by TN Governor's statement. Governor is only the 'titular' head of the Executive, not the 'real' head. Since the real head, the Chief Minister, is cowering in fear of the central government, the TN Governor is exceeding his authority,” Chidambaram tweeted.
The former finance minister also sent a message to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisami, saying that if he was worthy of the office he held, he (Palanisami) should instruct district administrations to refuse to participate in meetings called by the Governor.
Earlier, Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu issued a press release stating the role of the governor. "The governor is the executive head of the state as per the Constitution. He has complete power to obtain any information connected with the administration of the state and to visit various parts of the state without any restrictions. There have been reports, discussions and comments from various biased quarters about the Constitutional illegality of such actions," the release said, adding that meetings being held between the governor with district officials is in conformity with his role as governor of state under the provisions of the Constitution of India.
On Thursday, Purohit held meetings with officials of Cuddalore district, despite mass protests from the opposition DMK party.
On December 7, DMK leader M.K. Stalin had said party supporters will hold peaceful protests against Purohit during his visits to various districts to review developmental works.
Stalin said the Governor should stop indulging in "political" work to review projects and instead order Chief Minister K. Palaniswami to prove his government's majority in the assembly.
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