Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 24 (IANS) A constitutional disagreement between the Kerala government and Governor Rajendra V. Arlekar over the policy address has escalated, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday asserting that only the Cabinet approved version of the address holds authority under established rules and conventions.
CM Vijayan told the Assembly that according to existing rules and conventions, the Cabinet-approved policy decision is the one that is accepted.
He also said former governors including Arif Mohammed Khan had once read the policy address for 1 minute and 22 seconds but the entire policy address was accepted, pointed out CM Vijayan.
Following this, the Speaker A.N. Shamseer accepted Vijayan’s statement, causing a dent to the Governor’s demand.
The latest flashpoint followed a letter from the Governor to Speaker Shamseer stating that the version he read in the Assembly on January 20 should be treated as the official address, not the text cleared by the Council of Ministers and subsequently published.
Incidentally what happened on January 20 was Vijayan immediately after seeing off the Governor on the opening day of the session, informed the House regarding the deviations from the Cabinet approved text.
He said certain clauses had been omitted or altered and stressed that the government approved address must remain the authoritative policy statement.
According to the Chief Minister, Clause 12, which referred to Kerala’s severe financial stress arising from adverse Union government actions affecting fiscal federalism was omitted.
In Clause 15, the last two sentences relating to pending state Bills and the government’s move to approach the Supreme Court and a Constitution Bench were removed.
Clause 16, dealing with the states’ constitutional rights over tax revenues and Finance Commission grants, was retained but with the addition of the phrase “my government believes”.
Citing Article 176 of the Constitution, CM Vijayan said the Governor’s address at the first session of the year is based on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
He noted that past rulings by the Chair have consistently upheld the Cabinet-approved text as the valid document placed before the House.
Speaker Shamseer on that day also backed the Chief Minister, stating that any deviation from the Cabinet-approved text goes against legislative convention and that the official version circulated to members and the media would be the one cleared by the government.
The episode adds to the evolving friction between the Raj Bhavan and the elected government, raising fresh questions over constitutional practice and Centre-State dynamics.
–IANS
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