Outfits seek guv’s removal over religious chant

Madurai: The State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) and Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa University Teachers' Association (MUTA) have demanded the removal of Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi, accusing him of violating the secular fabric of the Constitution by asking students to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram' at a college function in Madurai on Saturday.
Ravi, who was chief guest at a felicitation event at Thiagarajar College of Engineering, a govt-aided institution, reportedly urged students to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram' thrice during his address. The SPCSS-TN said the alleged act was in violation of the governor's constitutional oath under Article 159, which mandates upholding secular values and non-partisanship.
"Educational institutions are secular spaces. The governor's act of invoking a religious chant and expecting students to repeat it was unconstitutional and coercive. Students, instructed to show respect, were placed in a difficult position and compelled to comply," SPCSS-TN general secretary Prince Gajendra Babu said.
MUTA general secretary Senthamarai Kannan said such behaviour from a constitutional authority promotes religious divisiveness and threatens the secular atmosphere in educational institutions.
Saying that Ravi's action amounted to preaching in a public educational setting, SPCSS urged President of India to withdraw the pleasure of the governor and seek his immediate removal from office. They said Tamil Nadu's academic curriculum already includes literature from all religions, taught in a secular manner.