Ponnanna sparks uproar in Assembly, says Governor has no discretion to change govt speech
BENGALURU: AMID objections from BJP legislators, Congress MLA AS Ponnanna on Tuesday criticised Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, saying the latter did not have the discretion to omit anything from the speech prepared by the government in the address to the joint session of the legislature.
Speaking on the motion of thanks to the governor’s address in the Assembly, Ponnanna, who is also the legal advisor to the chief minister, cited a 1969 incident from West Bengal, where the then governor had skipped two paragraphs of the speech and the issue was discussed in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier, the House witnessed chaos as BJP members, including senior BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar, protested saying that Ponnanna was not sticking to the motion of thanks, but was using his speech to criticise the governor.
When Ponnanna alleged that the governor did not wait for the national anthem, Suresh Kumar said, “Ponnanna is supposed to make a speech thanking the governor for his speech. But, he is accusing the governor of not addressing the legislature.”
The chaos continued even after lunch as Ponnanna claimed that he is not insulting the governor but is speaking on the latter’s constitutional position, which was opposed by LoP R Ashoka.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara defended Ponnanna. “He is only interpreting Articles 163(1) and 176. He is not speaking against the governor personally,” Dr Parameshwara said.
Suresh Kumar said that as per rules, one cannot take the names of the president and governor to influence their debate. “Many MLAs in the House do not know the constitutional position on the issue. What is wrong in Ponnanna speaking about the governor’s address,” questioned Parameshwara.
Demand for iPads for legislatorsPonnanna suggested to Speaker UT Khader that the Assembly should be digitised by providing iPads to legislators on the lines of Tamil Nadu, which transitioned to a paperless system.