Ahead of joint session, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot refuses to read govt-drafted speech

Bengaluru: In an unprecedented development Wednesday, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot refused to read portions of a speech, drafted by the Congress government which he is scheduled to deliver to the joint session of the legislature on Thursday, as they contain criticism of the Modi administration.

This confrontation comes a day after Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi walked out of the Assembly without reading his speech, while his Kerala counterpart Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was accused of skipping certain parts that were critical of the union government.

Gehlot's refusal to read the government's speech prompted Law & Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil to rush to Lok Bhavan. Assembly Speaker UT Khader, Legislative Council chairperson Basavaraj Horatti, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's legal advisor AS Ponnanna and Advocate-General Shashi Kiran Shetty were also present.

Gehlot has expressed reservations against 11 paragraphs in the speech drafted by the state government.

"He [Governor] has suggested that we drop 11 paragraphs. We will naturally discuss some modifications in such situations. However, it will be opposite to the decisions of the government to drop any paragraph. We didn’t feel it was appropriate to drop some paragraphs,” Patil told reporters.

Patil explained that the 11 paragraphs relate to the restoring of MGNREGA, Centre-State relations, the “injustice” faced by Karnataka to the union government's policies, losses caused in devolution under the 15th Finance Commission and so on.

“We have to at least subtly show the problems with the injustices in the 15th commission, right? Shouldn’t we raise our voice against the VB-G RAM (G) Act, which replaced MGNREGA and took away the right to work? Our panchayats used to decide what work had to be done. That right has been taken away and the power has been centralised and kept in Delhi. How is it right to say we shouldn’t speak against it through the Governor?” Patil argued.

Patil pointed out that Constitution Articles 176(1) and 163 mandate the Governor to read out the speech prepared by the Cabinet. He said that Gehlot's concerns would be discussed with Siddaramaiah.

Slamming the Congress, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said Governors are not spokespersons of the government.

"Under Articles 175 and 176, Governors can address the legislature. However, there's no rule that Governors must compulsorily read every single word in the script prepared by the government," Ashoka argued. "If Congress has written a mandatory rule in its own Constitution that Governors must voice the government's bundle of lies, that's a different matter. But there's no such provision in the Indian Constitution."