BENGALURU: Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil on Friday said there is a nationwide debate on the conduct of governors in non-BJP-ruled states. “I can speak about the kind of instructions the Raj Bhavans (Lok Bhavans) are receiving from the Union Government. I am aware of how governors are being treated,” Patil said. Reacting sharply, Deputy Leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad questioned how many calls the Assembly Speaker’s office had received from the State Government.
This led to chaos in the House for a while.
Patil said the governor is bound by the Constitution. “He is the custodian of the Constitution, but not above it. What we are discussing here is being debated across the country.
More importantly, it is being discussed in the South Indian states. It is happening in non-BJP states in South India. I can start with how the governor violated the Constitution. I can also tell how many calls the governor’s office receives from the Centre. I can tell how the governors are being treated,” he said.
Later, he said the governor should address the House following norms. “He cannot come and go. The strength of the Constitution is being discussed today. He has insulted the House and the Constitution. He has violated the law. He cannot escape from all this,” Patil said, adding that the governor must apologise.
He claimed that the legislators can express their message to the Centre through the governor. “The governor’s speech is a platform in democracy. We are not here to please the governor through the speech. Under Section 163 of the Constitution, the speech was readied by the State cabinet, but the governor rejected it. On what basis did he reject it,” he asked.
Patil said BJP members are trying to hide their mistakes by raising the governor’s issue. “Yesterday I said the governor ran away from the House, and I stand by that statement even now,” he added.
Patil said CM Siddaramaiah and he went to the governor’s car to see him off, but BJP members were falsely making allegations. Patil said BJP members are making allegations against a few MLCs who are not members of the Assembly. No discussion or action can be taken against those MLCs in the Assembly as they are not members of the Assembly.
Former law minister Suresh Kumar said governors are appointed by the President. “The Centre introduced the new VB-G RAM G Bill in the last session that was passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Bill even got the President’s assent. How can they make the governor speak against this,” he wondered.
Siddaramaiah said the governor should have left after the National Anthem was played.