Chennai : Slowly but surely, the principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, has managed to put the actions of the governor Banwarilal Purohit under sharp focus by maintaining its attack on the ‘parallel’ administration run from the Raj Bhavan.

The Raj Bhavan too hit back at the DMK and its working president MK Stalin warning him of dire consequences if the governor’s tours across districts and his interaction with officials there was sought to be disturbed or questioned. It is all as per the rules and regulations, the Raj Bhavan has maintained, which was dismissed by the opposition parties that are managing to paint the EPS-OPS government as a BJP stooge and governor as interfering in running the state which is the prerogative of the elected government.

On Monday, a day after state government issued a stern warning to Stalin, the opposition DMK sought to raise the issue in the assembly, which was disallowed by Speaker P Dhanpal. Unhappy with the speaker’s ruling, the DMK and its friendly parties, the Congress and IUML staged a walkout from the assembly.

Speaker Dhanpal maintained that he was only going by the rules and said the rules prevented any discussion on the activities of the governor. Stalin shot back saying that in the past the rule was relaxed for discussing the governor, but the speaker would have none of it. “The practice of relaxation of the particular rule was no more in vogue,” the speaker said.

Even Stalin’s assertion that he was speaking for the AIADMK government as the issue he was raising was in then interest of then state’s autonomy failed to convince the speaker, who just simply refused to allow the issue to be discussed.

As all his efforts to raise the issue failed, Stalin staged a walkout and was joined by his allies in the protest. The DMK has been holding black flag protests during the governor’s visits to the districts.

The DMK had also sought the governor’s resignation and had held a ‘siege Raj Bhavan’ campaign on June 23.

The governor hit back with an official release that reminded the opposition leader that anyone restraining governor from exercising his constitutional duties could be jailed for seven years.