THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move that could trigger a constitutional and legal confrontation with the LDF government, Governor Rajendra Arlekar has written to Speaker A N Shamseer, seeking an explanation on what he reportedly termed as “unauthorised” amendments made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to his policy address in the assembly on January 20.
Sources close to the governor said it was a preliminary step before directing the speaker to retain in the assembly records only the version of the policy address he had delivered. The governor will also reportedly direct the speaker to ensure that amendments made by the chief minister to his address are rejected.
“The governor has asked the speaker to provide the full video of the proceedings that includes his speech and the amendments made by the chief minister to it and its subsequent adoption by the assembly,” a top Lok Bhavan source said.
The governor has reportedly seen this intervention by the chief minister as unwarranted and unconstitutional.
“In many instances, governors have skipped certain portions of the policy address but they were still retained and adopted by the house. However, in this case, portions of the speech that were factually incorrect and containing disparaging remarks on the Centre were read out and attributed to the governor by a third party,” the source said.
The Lok Bhavan has reportedly received legal advice that the governor has the right to ensure that statements that are highly critical of the Centre and even his own office or are not included in an address attributed to him.
The portions skipped by the governor, but read out as retained by the chief minister, contained a reference that a series of adverse Union government actions have “undermined the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism”.
The governor had also skipped a portion of the policy address that read: “Bills passed by state legislatures have remained pending for prolonged periods. My government has approached the Supreme Court on these issues, which have been referred to a Constitution Bench.” This portion was omitted on the grounds of being “factually incorrect”. However, the chief minister later announced that this portion be considered as included in the address.
Govt changed guv’s speech in assembly records, alleges BJP
T’Puram: The BJP state leadership on Sunday alleged that the state government altered the governor’s customary policy address in the official records. The address was delivered at the commencement of the 16th session of the 15th assembly last Tuesday. Calling this a first-of-its-kind move in any part of the country, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a press conference here that the government should clarify the matter. “While the governor had delivered a speech in the legislative assembly, how can a chief minister insert another one in the assembly records, that too in an event which he presides over,” he said.
