The Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments have been at loggerheads with their state governors, RN Ravi and Arif Mohammed Khan, respectively. Bills have been passed by the Tamil Nadu and the Kerala governments to curtail the powers of the governors. Apart from these Bills, the Tamil Nadu government leaders have boycotted events hosted by the state governor RN Ravi and publicly criticised some of his actions, stirring controversy.
In February 2022, Governor RN Ravi returned the anti-NEET Bill tabled by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, stating that it goes against the interests of students, especially those from the economically weaker sections. He also cited a Supreme Court judgement – where the issue was examined from a social justice angle – which said, “It (NEET) prevents economic exploitation of poor students and is in furtherance of social justice.”
In April 2022, MK Stalin and some Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) allies boycotted the ‘At Home’ reception held by RN Ravi at the Raj Bhavan to mark the Tamil New Year. The event was boycotted as the governor did not give his assent to the anti-NEET Bill. The Chief Minister said that since there was no “positive assurance” from the Governor with regard to the Bill, it would “inappropriate for us to attend the celebratory event hosted at Raj Bhavan.”
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, in June 2022, urged the Governor RN Ravi to give his assent to 21 Bills that were tabled in the State Assembly, including Bills that will curtail his powers. Some of the Bills that were waiting for RN Ravi’s assent include The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, Chennai (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and The Chennai University (Amendment) Bill, 2022 among others which take away the Governor’s powers to appoint Vice-Chancellors (VCs) to state-run universities.
TN Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy boycotted the convocation event at Madurai Kamaraj University, stating that Governor RN politicised the event. The State Government opposed the event because the Governor’s office extended an invitation to the Union Minister of State for Fisheries L Murugan, who belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to be a guest of honour and deliver a special address.
In February 2022, the Governor had directed the Chief Secretary to stop pension of the personal staff of ministers in the Kerala government. He added that pensions for the personal staff was draining taxpayers’ money and the system must be abolished within a month. He also criticised the government for appointing such staff in the first place and alleged that they are benefactors of different political parties who take up these jobs only for pension benefits.
Several ordinances issued by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government lapsed on August 8, as Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had not signed them owing to paucity of time to go through them. The governor had told reporters that he would not sign the ordinances without applying his mind, and for that he needed time. The Governor had claimed that the files of the ordinances were sent to him on the day he was going to travel to Delhi for a meeting of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' committee and therefore, did not have the time to go through all of them. He had also said that ruling through ordinances "is not desirable in a democracy" and that he was not going to approve their re-promulgation, without going through the ordinances.
In August 2022, Arif Mohammed Khan criticised the Kannur University's move to appoint a CPI(M) leader's wife, Priya Varghese as an Associate Professor in its Malayalam Department, and stayed her appointment saying that she is not qualified for the position and it is a case of favouritism. The Governor also slammed the University Vice-Chancellor's reported decision to challenge his action in the court. The Governor said that he would order a full-fledged investigation into the allegations of nepotism in appointments made to various posts in universities in the state.
On August 24, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that a Bill will be tabled in the state Assembly, curtailing the Governor’s powers as Chancellor of 13 universities in the state. The 10-day Assembly session, which began on August 22, was convened specifically to float 12 Bills, after 11 ordinances lapsed earlier this month as the Governor did not sign them in time.