India, Jan. 20 -- Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi on Tuesday cited "insult" to the national anthem, declined to read the customary state government-prepared speech for a third year in a row, and walked out of the state assembly on the opening day of its winter session, sparking a fresh spat with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Chief minister MK Stalin responded by vowing to make efforts for a Constitutional amendment to eliminate the practice of the customary speech at the beginning of the year. He accused Ravi of insulting the people of Tamil Nadu and moved a resolution to record the English version of the governor's address as having been read.

Ravi and the DMK government have been at loggerheads since he was appointed as the ...