Karnataka Congress leaders demand Governor Gehlot's removal post walkout

Karnataka Congress leaders vehemently criticised Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's assembly walkout without reading the full address. Leaders like M Nagaraju Yadav called for his immediate removal, alleging he disrespected the Constitution.

Karnataka Congress leaders on Friday strongly criticised the Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's recent walkout from the assembly without reading the complete address drafted by the state government, with Congress MLC M Nagaraju Yadav calling for his removal from the post.

Congress Demands Governor's Removal

Yadav reacted strongly to the recent controversy, targeting the central government, "The BJP should not turn out this matter like this.", implying that the governor was instructed by them. He claimed that a senior Congress leader appealed to the Governor to fulfil his duties at the Assembly. "Hariprasad, a senior leader of the Congress party, was trying to request the Governor, saying that there is a purpose to your coming to the joint session, you have to do your duties properly, and that you were supposed to address the joint session.", he said.

Calling for strict action against Gehlot, he said, "Action should be taken to remove the governor immediately. Karnataka does not need a governor who does not respect the Constitution of India."

Congress MLA Pradeep Eshwar highlighted that this threat to the Governor's position is unprecedented, saying, For the first time in the history of Indian politics, the governor's position is at stake." Citing Article 163 of the Constitution, he stated that it "clearly states that the Council of Ministers should aid and advise the Governor." Alleging that the Governor is acting independently, he added that "We strongly condemn the Governor's steps."

Allegations of Central Government Interference

Along with this, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy claimed that governors from opposition-led states are being advised by the central government. Highlighting the standard procedure followed by the Assembly every year, he called the walkout "unfair". "Every year, the governor will come and address the joint session. Whichever government or state prepares the speech, he must read it... This is very unfair... In Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal, where the opposition parties are ruling, the governors are taking advice from the central government.", he said.

Earlier, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot walked out of the Assembly without reading the full address drafted by the state government. The Governor reportedly read only the first and last lines of his customary address to the joint session before leaving the House. Following the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that the Governor violated the Constitution by not reading the Cabinet-approved address at the year's first joint session. He declared that a decision on approaching the Supreme Court will be taken after due discussion.

A Pattern of Governor-State Conflicts

This incident comes in the wake of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi walking out without delivering his address on the opening day of the first session of the Legislative Assembly. In the Kerala Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused Governor Arlekar of making additions and deletions to the policy address approved by the Council of Ministers, and requested the Legislative Assembly to accept the Cabinet-approved version as the authentic policy document.

Stalin Calls for Constitutional Amendment

Following this, Tamil Nadu CM also alleged that the Governors are now behaving like "party agents". According to Stalin, this practice undermines duly elected state governments. In a post on X, Stalin said, "First Tamil Nadu. Then Kerala. Now Karnataka. The pattern is clear and deliberate. Governors refusing to read the speech prepared by state governments and behaving like party agents, undermining duly elected state governments. As I stated earlier, the only solution now is to end the practice of commencing the first annual Assembly session with the #Governor's address."

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister further declared that DMK will consult like-minded opposition parties across India and will demand a constitutional amendment in the next parliamentary session to abolish this practice. "#DMK will consult like-minded opposition parties across India and pursue a constitutional amendment in the very next parliamentary session to abolish this obsolete and irrelevant practice," added Stalin. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)