Kerala guv made changes to House address, says CM Vijayan

THiruvananthapuram: A row stony-broke come out in the Kerala gathering on tues after Chief government minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused Governor Rajendra Arlekar of making a few omissions and modifications to the customary opening address that the latter delivered on the first day of the House’s final session.It was alleged that Governor Arlekar, in his 112-minute-long policy speech approved by the state cabinet, omitted sections criticising the Union government’s fiscal policy and the delay in giving assent to bills passed by the state legislature.After the Governor delivered the customary address and left the House, Vijayan stated that he had made some changes to the text in paragraphs 12, 15 and 16 of the address.“The policy speech approved by the Cabinet is in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution and the practices of the House. Since the honourable Governor is making a policy statement of the government in the House, paragraphs 12, 15 and 16 of the address approved by the Cabinet will remain unchanged,” he said.He then went on to read out the sections that were omitted and modified by the Governor.The original section in paragraph 12 of the address read thus: “Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face a severe fiscal stress arising from a series of adverse Union government actions that undermine the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism.” In Arlekar’s speech, it was read as “Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face a severe fiscal stress arising from curtailment of advances.”In paragraph 15, the Governor, the CM stated, omitted the section on the delay in the passage of bills. The sentence omitted by the Governor read as “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.”In paragraph 16, the CM said that the Governor prefaced the section about tax devolution and finance commission grants with the term “My government feels”.However, Arlekar read out portions of the policy address in which the State pointed to excessive centralisation of power and interference in so-called state subjects. He also relayed the state’s concerns about the Union government’s amendment to the VB-G RAM-G scheme (which replaces MGNREGS).The Governor’s office termed the controversy ‘baseless and unnecessary.’Lok Bhavan said that the Governor had asked that “half-truths” be removed from the draft of the speech. “The government had responded that the speech could be prepared and read with amendments that the Governor found appropriate. There was also an indication that the speech could be sent again with the suggested changes,” it said in a statement.But the same version of the speech was returned without any amendments, it said.To be sure, it is not customary for governors to make changes or fact check these speeches.The Governor’s office said that the reference about the Supreme Court referring Kerala’s pleas on delay in approval of bills to a constitutional bench was factually incorrect. The Supreme Court has not made any such reference.Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan backed the government’s argument that the Governor cannot make changes to the policy address. At the same time, he alleged that the accusations against the Governor was part of a “drama” in the wake of the upcoming elections. “Whenever the government is in a crisis, there will be a clash with the governor. When the government’s crisis subsides, it will settle with the governor.” The LDF government headed by CM Vijayan has shared thorny relationships with Governors , resulting in tussles on issues like university appointments, assent to bills passed by the state legislature, campus politics and most recently, display of a portrait of Bharat Mata. Arlekar’s predecessor Arif Mohammed Khan had a tumultuous tenure, including sitting on dharna on the side of a road against CPM student wing SFI, threatening to withdraw pleasure of state finance minister KN Balagopal and once wrapping up the customary policy address in less than a minute.