The governor versus government face-off in non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled southern states has seen a third such incident in three days, with Karnataka Governor on Thursday, January 22, refusing to read the full speech approved by the state government citing grievances and walking out of the Assembly, two days after Kerala and Tamil Nadu governors also did the same.
Karnataka governor leaves after two-line address
On Thursday, confining his customary address to the state legislature to just two lines, Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot walked out after his two-line address to the Legislative Assembly and Council.
It prompted a strong response from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who accused the governor of delivering his own speech rather than the government-prepared one, dubbing him a “puppet” of the Centre.
Congress members expressed strong displeasure over the governor walking away without reading the speech prepared by the government, and raised “Shame Shame” slogans on the floor of the House. While seemingly defending the governor, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members shouted “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
Siddaramaiah later alleged that Governor Gehlot did not stick to his constitutional mandate.
“Today, instead of reading the speech prepared by the Cabinet, he spoke the speech prepared by himself. This is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution. It clearly violates Article 176 and 163,” the CM lashed out.
Kerala CM alleged Governor “omitted” parts of approved speech
Gehlot’s brief appearance follows a tense standoff between the Lok Bhavan and the Congress government – the latest in a series of confrontations involving the elected governments and the Lok Bhavan in non-BJP ruled states.
On Tuesday, January 20, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan objected to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s two-hour address. He said that parts of the government-approved speech were omitted, while other parts were self-included.
The omitted portions included sections criticising the BJP-ruled Centre’s fiscal policy and references to Bills pending approval from the Lok Bhavan.
According to Vijayan, the Governor did not read out the opening of paragraph 12 or the concluding portion of paragraph 15 of the document.
The Chief Minister said one of the portions avoided by the Governor was, “Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face severe fiscal stress arising from a series of adverse Union government actions that undermine the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism.”
The other was, “Bills passed by State legislatures have remained pending for prolonged periods. My Government has approached the Supreme Court on these issues, which have been referred to a Constitution Bench,” Vijayan pointed out.
National anthem disrespected, mic switched off: TN Governor on walkout
On Wednesday, January 21, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi also walked out of the state Assembly without delivering his customary address to the House on the opening day of its inaugural session of the year, claiming “inaccuracies” in the text.
The governor’s office alleged that the national anthem was yet again “insulted” and the fundamental constitutional duty of respecting it was disregarded. Several crucial issues troubling the people were ignored, it said.
Minutes after Ravi walked out of the 234-member House without delivering his address, the Lok Bhavan issued a 13-point explainer on why Ravi “declined” to read out the address. It alleged the Governor’s mic “was repeatedly switched off and he was not allowed to speak.”
Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed the Governor for “walking out in violation of tradition and ethos,” and later piloted a resolution saying the English version of the address was assumed to have been read.
(With PTI inputs)
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