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Karnataka ministers on Thursday strongly criticised Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for refusing to deliver the customary address prepared by the State government to the Assembly, terming the move a violation of constitutional provisions.
Karnataka Chief Minister's legal advisor AS Ponnanna said, "They must take action against the governor who has refused to discharge his constitutional functions. Thereafter, we can debate on what happened inside the house... The Governor acts purely on the advice of the Council of Ministers; he has no discretion, he cannot decide what must be in the speech, there was nothing unparliamentary..." The controversy comes amid a faceoff between the Congress-led State government and Raj Bhavan over the Governor's customary address to the joint sitting of the legislature. Governor Gehlot had expressed reservations over 11 paragraphs in the speech, which reportedly criticised the Central government's policies, including the VB-G RAM G Act replacing MGNREGA. He walked out of the Assembly session, refusing to read the address prepared by the Council of Ministers and instead delivering a speech drafted by himself. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condemned the Governor's action, calling it a "violation of the Constitution" and stating that the government is examining whether to approach the Supreme Court. He noted that the move contravenes Article 163, which mandates that the Council of Ministers advises the Governor, and Article 176, which requires the Governor to deliver a "Special Address" at the start of each session. State Minister Priyank Kharge called the act a "partisan intervention" that undermines the constitutional role of the office. Reacting to the opposition, Mangaluru City North BJP MLA Y Bharat Shetty said, "The whole thing is about Congress government trying to make the Governor say things which are not true... It is the right of the state government to move whatever resolution it wants if it has the mandate. But they should also think about whether it is right or wrong... All the state governments where the NDA is not in power have made it a habit to heckle the governor and make him say things that are not true... The governor has the right to question what speech has been given to him. He has the right to reject or question the act itself..." The incident has intensified tensions between the state government and Raj Bhavan, raising broader debates on the limits of the Governor's discretion and executive intervention in legislative proceedings. (ANI)
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