The latest flashpoint revolves around the Kalaignar University Bill — intended to set up a new state university in Kumbakonam — which the Assembly passed and sent to him for approval. Instead of granting assent, the governor forwarded it to the President of India, a move the government says was purely to “cause delay”.

Matters escalated when a BJP functionary challenged several state university legislations in the Madras High Court, leading to a stay order. Rather than take a neutral stance, the state alleges, Ravi filed a plea supporting the BJP petitioner’s position — a gesture that, in the DMK’s telling, confirmed his “political partisanship”.

The government warns that these disputes have tangible consequences: multiple universities are without vice-chancellors, a leadership vacuum that could affect thousands of students. The DMK frames this as not merely a procedural quibble, but a direct risk to the state’s higher education system.

The governor’s office has in the past defended such interventions as being in line with constitutional responsibilities, though critics — and not just in Tamil Nadu — argue that several governors across India have been overstepping their ceremonial mandates, particularly in Opposition-ruled states. In recent years, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal have all seen similarly frosty CM–governor relations, complete with boycotts of ceremonial functions.

For now, Raj Bhavan will have to make do without DMK company on 15 August. Allies of the ruling party, including the Congress and the Left, have also announced their absence from the reception. Independence Day in Tamil Nadu, it seems, will once again be celebrated in two parallel universes: one with polite tea and biscuits at the governor’s residence, and another where the state’s elected leadership prefers to sip its dissent.