Tamil Nadu CM vs. Governor: When eggs, stones were hurled at Channa Reddy’s convoy and Jayalalithaa sought his recall in 1995

At around 3 pm on April 10, 1995, Tamil Nadu Governor M. Channa Reddy had left Raj Bhavan (now Lok Bhavan) for Pondicherry (now Puducherry). When his convoy reached Tindivanam, a group of ruling AIADMK men hurled eggs and stones at the convoy. The men were led by SS Panneerselvam, party secretary of Villupuram Ramasamy Padayachiar district unit (present-day Villupuram). They were angry that Reddy entertained the then Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who was trying to sue Chief Minister Jayalalithaa (then spelled Jayalalitha) on corruption charges.

The governor’s convoy was held up at the Tindivanam-Pondicherry junction for more than 15 minutes. Reddy called District Police Superintendent (SP) Vijayakumar, who was at the spot, and instructed him to clear the road. Hindu Cuddalore Reporter reported that Mr. Vijayakumar said the protesters threw stones and eggs but they missed the vehicles in the Governor’s convoy.

The incident took place at a time when the feud between Jayalalithaa and Reddy was well known.

Report to Headquarters

The governor immediately sent a report to the Centre, attributing the stopping of his convoy to “alleged interference by senior officials in Madras (the State capital)”. He concluded his report as follows: “It is obvious that the demonstrations were organized with the help of the police, which is a sad comment and insinuation about the methods of the ruling party.”

When opposition parties criticized the attack on the Governor’s convoy, Revenue Minister SD Somasundaram claimed that AIADMK men had assembled democratically only to hold a demonstration against Reddy “encouraging” Mr. Swamy to create trouble in the State.

recall request

Endorsing this narrative, Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to President Shankar Dayal Sharma and Chief Minister PV Narasimha Rao urging them to recall the Governor. Accusing Reddy of acting with “premeditated bias”, he asked the Center not to take seriously his “constant false reporting of events in the State”.

Revealing the contents of her letters in the Legislative Assembly on April 19 the same year, Jayalalithaa said the Governor’s “open embrace” of Mr. Swamy’s case had further increased tension in the already soured atmosphere of Tamil Nadu following Reddy’s sanction to prosecute him.

In his view, the Governor’s own “unlawful, unconstitutional actions” had made his position in the State completely untenable. ‘

Dismissing Reddy’s accusations, he said: “They can be viewed as a malicious, pre-brokered design to paint a picture of chaos and breakdown of law and public order in Tamil Nadu to make it prepare a final report for action against the State government under Article 356 of the Constitution.”

Based on intelligence reports, Jayalalithaa insisted that all bandobust regulations were implemented along the Governor’s route on April 10. The district SP, along with a police team, had gone to Tindivanam to inspect arrangements following reports that “around 1,500 AIADMK volunteers and general public” had gathered near the Government Guest House “for the purpose of demonstrating to state that some of the Governor’s actions were detrimental to democracy”.

According to his account, much before the Governor’s convoy reached the spot, the crowd had dispersed after a mild lathi charge by the police, leaving four people slightly injured. However, when the convoy’s lead pilot car arrived at the scene at around 16.25, approximately 300 people jumped out of the nearby bus stop and took their places on one side of the road. However, this crowd also dispersed and was pushed to the roadside opposite Veeranam guesthouse.

“Although the path of the Governor’s convoy was clear, Dr. Channa Reddy summoned the Superintendent of Police and told him that he could continue his journey only after the roadside crowd dispersed completely. The police officer complied and gave way to the Governor after the lathi charged the crowd in which seven police personnel and 11 protestors were injured. The Governor then proceeded towards Pondicherry. The situation was handled tactically without any untoward incident. That was the truth.” he said. [The Hindu, April 20, 1995]

Letter to the Secretary General

However, the Governor had written to the General Secretary claiming that the SP was reluctant to deal with the situation.

“The Director General of Police had denied this in his report to the government. It was also not correct to say that fax messages were sent by the Governor to several officers even before he left for Madras. The Chief Secretary, who was in the officers’ gallery in the legislative assembly, was easily reachable. It was not clear why this was not done,” Jayalalithaa told the Assembly.

In his letter to the President and Prime Minister, he said the allegations of police indifference, bureaucratic stupor and police-backed demonstrations by the Governor were “paradoxical and should be dismissed as petulant nonsense born of anger.” “The subjective satisfaction of the individual must also depend on the fulfillment of the requirements of truth,” he added. According to him, the Governor’s “subjective conclusions” are “partisan statements made with the calculated and diabolical design of creating a record that will ultimately recommend the removal of the State Government.”

Jayalalithaa said that the government had earlier maintained silence on the incident because it did not want to blow up an issue that was not an issue but had to explain everything in the Assembly.

Following the regime change in 1996, Mr. Panneerselvam and others were prosecuted and investigated.

It was published – 07 January 2026 05:30 IST