Kerala Lok Bhavan on Tuesday rejected Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s claims that Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar had "omitted" portions of the state government’s policy address in the Assembly, asserting that the suggestions made by the Governor were excluded from the original draft. The clarification came in response to the CM’s strong criticism over the reading of the address in the House.
After delivering a two-hour policy speech and exiting the House, the Governor’s omissions were flagged by the Chief Minister, who told the Assembly that several parts had been left out. These included sections where the BJP-led Union government’s fiscal policies were criticised and mentions of Bills awaiting clearance from the Lok Bhavan.
Lok Bhavan Terms Controversy 'Unnecessary, Baseless'
After CM’s accusation, the Lok Bhavan issued a clarification stating that the Governor had demanded the removal of "half-truths" from the draft of the address, adding that the controversy over the speech was "unnecessary and baseless"
"The government had responded that the speech could be prepared and read with amendments that the Governor found appropriate. There was also an indication that the speech could be sent again with the suggested changes.”
"However, the same speech was sent back to the Governor after midnight yesterday without any amendments. The Governor, who returned late to Thiruvananthapuram from Kozhikode, read the speech in the Assembly this morning," the statement said.
CM Vijayan’s Accusations
According to CM Vijayan 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.
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Tamil Nadu Governor, CM Also At Odds
In a similar incident to Kerala, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi skipped the customary address to the Assembly on Tuesday after reiterating his demand that the national anthem and the state anthem be played together at the start of the session. Similar scenes have been witnessed in previous Assembly sessions as well.
The Assembly convened at 9:30 am. As proceedings began, the Tamil Nadu state anthem was played. Soon after, the Governor walked out of the House without delivering the opening address.
Speaker M Appavu then informed the Assembly that the Governor RN Ravi had been formally notified of the protocol. Unaffected by the walkout, CM MK Stalin then moved a resolution to place the Governor's speech on record. Tamil Nadu Governor, appointed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and Chief Minister MK Stalin's DMK continue to be at odds over several issues, including law and order.