Governor’s statement on budget session irks Telangana cabinet

An official in the chief minister’s office familiar with the development said the cabinet had a brief discussion on Tamilisai’s statement released to media on Saturday night

The Telangana state cabinet, which met here under the leadership of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday to approve the annual budget for the year 2022-23, is learnt to have taken serious note of Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s confrontationist attitude towards the state government.

Tamilisai Soundarrajan has found fault with the government to begin the budget session without the Governor’s address. (ANI)

An official in the chief minister’s office familiar with the development said the cabinet had a brief discussion on Tamilisai’s statement released to media on Saturday night, finding fault with the government to commence the budget session of the state assembly on Monday without the customary Governor’s address.

“The government has already made it clear that the Governor’s address at the beginning of the budget session was avoided only because of the technical reason, as it is not the new session but only a continuation of the previous assembly session which was adjourned sine die on October 8. The cabinet felt that the Governor has deliberately chosen to make it a controversy,” the official said.

The cabinet decided that the government would give a reply to the Governor’s statement at an appropriate time.

According to a spokesperson from the chief minister’s office, there were no issues with the Raj Bhavan in the first two years and it was only in the last few months that Tamilisai was adopting a confrontationist attitude towards the TRS government.

“When the state cabinet recommended appointment of TRS leader P Kaushik Reddy as member of state legislative council (MLC) under Governor’s quota, she had neither approved nor rejected it. She deliberately kept the file pending despite reminders by the government,” the spokesman pointed out.

Similarly, the Governor also dodged taking a decision on the state government’s recommendation appointing senior All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslieen (AIMIM) member as pro-tem chairman of the state legislative council and gave her consent only after the government quoted earlier precedents.

“Tamilisai also read out her own speech on the Republic Day this year at Raj Bhavan, though the state cabinet had not approved any such speech. Since there were no public celebrations of the Republic Day in view of the pandemic this year, the government had not prepared any Governor’s speech. Yet, she chose to make her own speech only to embarrass the government,” the spokesman pointed out.

He also said during the Governor’s address during the 2021-22 budget session, Tamilisai added a few paragraphs of her own in the speech, which were not approved by the cabinet.

“All these developments indicate the change in the stand of the Governor towards the TRS government. It is essential that the Governor should adopt a give-and-take approach towards the state government, instead of acting as a puppet in the hands of the Centre. It is better if she corrects herself at least now,” the CMO spokesperson said.

The Governor’s office is yet to react on the charges made by the TRS government.