Letters to The Editor — January 9, 2025

Role of the Governor

The episode of the Governor of Tamil Nadu, R.N. Ravi, walking out of the Legislative Assembly is unheard of. His excellency is bound under Article 176 to address the House. Article 163 makes it clear that he is bound to act on the aid and the advice of the Council of Ministers and not walk out, which is in violation of his constitutional duty.

It is not as if the State Government refused to have the National Anthem being played.

All that was said was that the State anthem would come first and that the National Anthem would be sung after his address thereby giving primacy to the State and federal structures. This has been the convention too.

The Governor has been making it difficult for the elected representatives to run the State. His excellency walked out of the State Assembly. It is time he walks out of the State too.

N.G.R. Prasad,

Chennai

Once again, the Tamil Nadu Governor has demeaned himself by walking out of the Assembly. The practice of the Tamil Thai Vaazhththu being played before the National Anthem is well known to his excellency.

Tharcius S. Fernando,

Chennai

Ban plastic flags

It is usually observed that after Independence Day and the Republic Day celebrations are over, miniature plastic flags are seen strewn all over. There is an urgent need to ban plastic flags. School students, especially NCC cadets, girl guides and boy scouts and other students should be assigned the task of disposal in an appropriate manner. There is a need for schools to teach students the dignity behind our national flag.

Cajetan Peter D’souza,

Mumbai

Roads in Chennai

The need of the hour in Chennai (“Chennai Corporation plans to float tenders for over 5,000 road works for upcoming year in Jan.”, December 22) is to impose a ban on the laying of roads in all areas that are prone to flooding. The prime cause of flooding is repeated and unnecessary road-laying. The ease of mechanised road-laying and other factors are what have motivated the Greater Chennai Corporation to go on a road-laying spree. Once roads are ‘brought down’ to the level prior to the year 2000, miracles would happen. Roads will once again become the major channels to carry rainwater to the nearest canal. It is illogical and impractical to assume that every drop of rain must be drained through storm water drains.

Sujatha Vijayaraghavan,

Chennai

The state of Indian cricket

I am one of countless cricket-crazy fans in India for whom playing the game is as important as how the sport is administered and run. The last few series have been very tough for the players, and we, as keen followers, have endured the adrenaline highs and dismal lows of Team India’s journey. It does raise a few pertinent questions about the BCCI’s approach, since it is the apex body that shapes Indian cricket. As the dust of the defeat in Australia settles, it raises a few points about how the whole Test panned out. Our obsession with stardom and superstar status sounds clichéd, but past records and performances in other formats do take precedence over the purest form — Test cricket. No one can deny that the team management — read selectors — has to take a tough call to ensure that the team composition is spot on and adequate work-load balance gains precedence over the bloated egos of the people who call the shots.

Sunil Gadepalli,

Pune