Governor’s lacklustre address

The Opposition may have been unduly harsh on the Governor’s address to the joint session of the Karnataka legislature, but even so there’s no denying that this year’s speech was particularly lacklustre and devoid of any forward-looking vision for the state. While Opposition leader Siddaramaiah described it as a “garland of lies”, JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy dubbed the address the worst in a decade. The Governor’s address is usually used by the government to pat itself on the back, and it was no different this time. At least 25% of the speech was devoted to praising the government’s handling of Covid. The panic and scramble for hospital beds, deaths due to oxygen shortage, lack of ambulances and paucity of essential drugs, especially during the second wave, were simply glossed over. The address contained nothing new and was a repackaging of last year’s budget speech and various cabinet decisions that are already in the public domain.

The economy is in tatters, the state’s finances are in doldrums, and unemployment is high. The government would have done well to announce an action plan to tackle these issues. The government also missed an opportunity to apply the healing balm to calm frayed tempers over the hijab issue and restore sanity on college campuses. The address also failed to strongly put across the state’s stand on the contentious Mekedatu balancing reservoir or other major projects like Mahadayi. The state’s opposition to the interlinking of rivers announced in the Union budget, until the question of sharing surplus waters is decided, also found no mention. While the Governor spoke about pothole-free roads in Bengaluru, a clear master plan that inspires the confidence of the people was missing. The government also failed to clearly elucidate its stand on the New Education Policy and NEET. Perhaps the only highlight of the address was the proposal to reverse brain drain by tapping into the knowledge of Indians living abroad, but that too was bereft of details.

The reading of the address in Hindi by the Governor also led to much consternation across the state and not just among the members of the legislature, most of whom are not familiar with the language. Over the years, the Governor’s address, which is mandated under Article 175(1), has lost its relevance as he or she merely reads out from the speech prepared by the government. It would be better if the address presents a vision document of the government and its reasoned view of current issues. It should not be a mere formality, which is what it has been reduced to now.