Karnataka Speaker U T Khader reserves ruling on Governor address row

Speaker U T Khader on Friday reserved his ruling on the alleged “disrespect” shown by Congress members to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot during his joint address on Tuesday, following a heated debate between the ruling Congress and the BJP over alleged constitutional violations by legislators and the Governor.

BJP, in a letter to the Speaker, accused Congress legislators of obstructing and disrespecting the Governor and demanded the suspension of the members, including Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil.

Patil countered by alleging that the Governor himself had violated Articles 176, 163 and 51A of the Constitution and demanded that he apologise to the people and the House.

Citing Article 176(1), Patil said the Governor was constitutionally bound to read the address prepared by the state Cabinet. “The Governor ‘shall’ address the House. He cannot come and go at will as per the Article 176(1). We do not draft speeches to please the Governor. Nowhere in the 122-paragraph address was there any personal allegation, yet he walked out after rejecting the speech,” Patil said, adding that the government was to communicating its policies to the people and the Centre through the governor’s address.

Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka accused Congress members of obstructing Governor’s path when he left the House and sought verification of video footage, while rejecting MLC B K Hariprasad’s charge that BJP members tore his kurta. Ashoka demanded parity with the six-month suspension earlier imposed on 18 BJP MLAs citing “misbehaviour.”

Former deputy chief minister C N Ashwath Narayan arguing that obstructing the Governor during a joint session amounted to a gross breach of House privilege and warranted immediate action. He cited Rule 27 that mandated a ruling by the Speaker in the very next sitting.

Responding, Patil said all rules flowed from the Constitution, which bound the Governor as well. “No constitutional authority is above the Constitution. As law minister, it is my duty to defend it,” he said. On the national anthem row, Patil said the Governor violated Article 51A (respect to national anthem) by leaving immediately after saying “Jai Hind,” despite the official bulletin stating that the anthem would follow the address.

Countering this, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar said the Governor had fulfilled Article 176 by reading parts of the speech and that what he chose to read fell within his discretion under Article 163(2). He also accused the government of attempting to use the Governor’s address to criticise a central law, arguing that such matters should have been raised by the Chief Minister in the budget speech.