In a high drama in Karnataka Assembly, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday refused to read state-prepared address and concluded his customary speech in just three lines, Siddaramaiah hits back
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BENGALURU — In a high drama in Karnataka Assembly, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday refused to read the state-prepared address to a joint session of the state legislature and concluded his customary speech in just three lines, evoking a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who accused him of being a "puppet" of the Centre.
This is the third governor vs government face-off in two days in three non-BJP-ruled southern states, the others being Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Governor began the speech by greeting the Chief Minister, Assembly Speaker U T Khader, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti, Leaders of the Opposition, ministers, and members.
"I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address one more joint session of the Karnataka legislature. My government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the state's economic, social, and physical development. Jai Hind. Jai Karnataka," he said in Hindi, before walking out.
The Treasury Benches, including ministers such as H K Patil (Law and Parliamentary Affairs), stood up and requested Gehlot to complete the speech. As the Governor proceeded towards the exit door, some ruling legislators, including MLC B K Hariprasad, tried to gherao him by shouting slogans. They were removed by the security staff.
The legislators then shouted ‘shame shame’ and "Dhikkara-Dhikkara, Rajyapalarige Dhikkara" (Reproof to the Governor) in Kannada.
While seemingly defending the Governor, BJP members shouted "Bharat Mata ki Jai".
Siddaramaiah attacked Gehlot for the actions and charged him with failing to deliver his constitutional responsibilities and duties.
Accusing the Governor of reading his own speech, Siddaramaiah said he has violated the Constitution by not reading out the full speech prepared by the government, and acted like a "puppet" in the hands of the central government.
"Every new year, the governor has to address the joint session, and he has to read the speech prepared by the state cabinet. That is constitutional. Because Article 176 of the Constitution and Article 163 say he or she -- the Governor--shall read the speech prepared by the government or the cabinet," Siddaramaiah told reporters.
"Today, instead of reading the speech prepared by the cabinet, he delivered the speech prepared by himself. This is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution. It clearly violates articles 176 and 163. Therefore, it is not going to be the speech of the Governor. He has not discharged his duties as per the Constitution. He has not discharged his responsibilities as prescribed by the Indian Constitution," the Chief Minister said.
Asserting that the government was going to protest against the attitude of the Governor, he said:"We are examining whether to approach the Supreme Court or not. We will let you know."
Thursday's development follows similar ones in neighbouring Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the past two days.
On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi 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. Similarly, his Kerala counterpart Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar had allegedly "omitted" portions of his speech, with the Lok Bhavan claiming his suggestions had been excluded from the original draft. As the business of the Karnataka Assembly resumed, Law Minister Patil's speech on the Governor's address got preference over the customary obituary to the eminent persons, drawing sharp response from theBJP.
Patil alleged that the Governor insulted the national anthem, as he did not wait for it to be played at the end of his address.
The opposition legislators said that allowing the minister to speak before the obituary was against the convention.
Citing the business rules of the House, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said no one should behave in an unruly manner before, during, or after the Governor's address, and demanded action against those legislators.
He also alleged that the Congress government turned the special session into a "black day" by showing disrespect to the Governor and insulting the Constitution.
Gehlot had on Wednesday refused to deliver the customary address, taking exception to certain references to the Centre "repealing" the UPA-era MGNREGA.
Meanwhile, BJP State President B Y Vijayendra strongly defended Gehlot over his decision to deviate from the government's prepared speech, and accused the ruling Congress of "misusing" the floor of the House to foster public resentment against the Centre.
He also demanded that CM Siddaramaiah take action against the ruling party MLA, MLCs for "trying to attack the governor".