Days after Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soudararajan lashed out at the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS government in the state, alleging that she has been humiliated and discriminated against for being a woman, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu said all state governors would meet the same fate if they go “too far” beyond their constitutional limits.

In a column titled “Tamilisai’s was not a mere statement, but a lesson for some Governors to correct themselves”, published on Monday in its mouthpiece ‘Murasoli’, the newspaper warned that they risk meeting the same fate as that of the Telangana Governor if they tried to interfere in the policies and welfare programmes of the elected state governments.

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“To keep the people and their interests from being hurt by the fight between the state government and the Governor, some state governments may be trying to find a middle ground for greater good. But if Governors keep getting in the way most of the time, they will end up in the same situation as Governor Soundararajan. So all self-styled Governors should realise this sooner than later,” the newspaper said.

The column further said that no state government can allow Governors, who are appointed by the Centre, to block policies and programmes formulated by an elected government that has in place a well-oiled democratic system for planning and execution involving elected representatives, bureaucrats and experts.

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The column comes in the backdrop of an ongoing tussle between the Tamil Nadu government and Governor R N Ravi over delays in clearances to policy matters of the state government. Ravi has been critical of DMK’s opposition to the Centre’s new education policy, the two-language policy of the state that excludes Hindi as well as its demand to exempt the state from NEET.

“History will remember how a woman Governor was discriminated (against). I was denied the Governor’s Address and the hoisting of the flag. Even now wherever I go protocol isn’t followed. Office should be respected,” Tamilisai had said in an address last Thursday.

Among the issues she flagged were challenges in reaching out to people, not being allowed to hoist the Tricolour on Republic Day and lack of protocol during her visit to districts.