Governor violated Constitution by not reading cabinet-approved address: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday strongly objected to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s conduct during the joint session of the Karnataka Legislature, accusing him of violating constitutional provisions by not reading the speech prepared and approved by the state government.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, the Chief Minister expressed serious displeasure over the Governor cutting short his address and leaving the joint session midway. “The Governor has violated the Constitution by not reading the speech prepared by the state government and instead reading a paragraph prepared by himself,” Siddaramaiah alleged.

Explaining the constitutional position, the Chief Minister said Articles 163, 176, and 186 of the Constitution clearly define the Governor’s role during a joint session. “The Constitution is explicit that the Governor must read only the speech approved by the Cabinet.

He has no authority to prepare and read his own speech. However, in this case, the Governor ignored the Cabinet-approved address and read a paragraph of his own, which amounts to a clear constitutional violation,” Siddaramaiah said.

The Chief Minister further accused the Governor of breaking long-established conventions and traditions. “From the beginning, there has been a clear practice and convention. The Governor has violated this tradition. Our government and party will strongly protest this,” he said.

Announcing statewide protests, Siddaramaiah alleged that the Governor was acting at the behest of the Centre. “The Governor has behaved like a puppet of the central government. To cover up the mistakes of the Centre, a different speech was read through the Governor.

He has failed to discharge his constitutional responsibility,” the Chief Minister charged. He added that the government would deliberate on whether to approach the court over the issue.

Siddaramaiah also used the occasion to reiterate the state government’s opposition to the Centre’s decision to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the ‘G-RAM-G’ scheme.

“This is the first joint session of the Legislature, and the Centre has scrapped MGNREGA and introduced the G-RAM-G Act. We strongly oppose this. We also oppose the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name,” he said.

Highlighting the impact on vulnerable sections, the Chief Minister said Karnataka has around 28 lakh Dalit labourers who are now uncertain about employment. “The objective of the Right to Work Act was to guarantee at least 100 days of employment to poor labourers.

Under the new Act, there is no such guarantee, and people will be forced to work wherever the Centre decides,” he alleged. He criticised the BJP for remaining silent and asserted that village panchayats have been stripped of their role in preparing action plans. “We will continue our agitation until MGNREGA is restored and the new Act is withdrawn,” Siddaramaiah said.

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