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'Acting like puppet': Siddaramaiah fumes after Karnataka governor walks out, weighs moving SC
Karnataka governor Thaawarchand Gehlot walked out of the state assembly after reading just two lines of his address to the legislature.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday that the Congress-led government in the state will consider moving the Supreme Court over the state’s governor, Thaawarchand Gehlot, walking out of the state assembly after reading just two lines of his address to the legislature.
Gehlot on Wednesday had declined to deliver the customary address to the Karnataka legislature scheduled for Thursday, objecting to certain references to the Centre “repealing” the UPA-era MGNREGA.
CM slams Gehlot as ‘puppet’ of Centre
The chief minister said the governor had violated the Constitution by not reading the full speech prepared by the government and had acted like a “puppet” in the hands of the central government.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “Every new year, the governor has to address the joint session and he has to read the speech prepared by the state cabinet. That is constitutional. Because, article 176 of the Indian Constitution and Article 163 says he or she -- the Governor --shall read the speech prepared by the government or the cabinet.”
"Today, instead of reading the speech prepared by the cabinet, he spoke the speech prepared by himself. This is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution. It clearly violates article 176 and 163 of the Constitution. Therefore it is not going to be the speech of the Governor. He has not discharged his duties as per the Constitution. He has not discharged his responsibilities as prescribed by the Indian Constitution," the CM was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“Therefore we are going to protest against the attitude of the governor. We are examining whether to approach the Supreme Court or not. We will let you know,” he added.
Row over governor’s walkout
Initially, the Karnataka governor’s arrival at Vidhana Soudha appeared to end hours of political suspense as chief minister Siddaramaiah received him at the state legislature.
However, he soon left the assembly after reading only two lines of the speech, which has since turned into a full-blown row in the state.
R Ashok, BJP leader and leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly, told ANI, “There is pressure on the governor to speak against the central government. The people of Congress have their own agenda: to convey to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi that we are fighting against the Central government.”
The governor’s brief appearance came after a tense standoff between the Lok Bhavan and the Congress-led government, the latest in a series of confrontations between governors and governments in non-BJP ruled states.
