00:00There is never a dull moment in Indian politics.
00:03Some days it's about a war of words, other days it's also about walkouts.
00:08Today it was about both.
00:09In Tamil Nadu, a Stormy Assembly session ended with Governor Aar and Ravi walking out
00:14without delivering the customary address, triggering a political slugfest.
00:19If you remember viewers, this isn't the first time that Governor Ravi has walked out of the Assembly.
00:24In Kerala, similar picture played out.
00:27In fact, the Chief Minister, Pinaray Vijayan, has now accused Governor Rajarendra Arlekar
00:32of altering the Cabinet-approved policy address.
00:36Across opposition rule states, governors and elected governments are once again on a collision course.
00:42So what does this really mean?
00:44Why are log-bhavans, or should I say raj-bhavans in various states,
00:49are increasingly becoming sites of confrontation?
00:52And where should both sides draw the line?
00:55And I'll ask those questions to the guests who will be joining me shortly.
00:57But first, here's what happened today.
01:09Governors versus governments.
01:11It is a conflict that refuses to die.
01:13As polls draw closer in opposition-ruled states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala,
01:21constitutional offices are once again at the centre of political storms.
01:32The latest flashpoint is Tamil Nadu.
01:34A stormy first day of the Assembly session saw CM Stalin and Governor Aran Ravi locking horns.
01:43It ended with the Governor walking out without reading the customary address.
01:48Aran Ravi alleged that the address prepared by the DMK government was filled with inaccuracies
01:53and unsubstantiated claims.
01:55Soon after, the TN Lok Bhavan released a statement claiming the Governor's microphone was repeatedly switched off.
02:06It said Aran Ravi was interrupted when he attempted to make changes to the speech.
02:11The statement also flagged inflated investment figures and alleged that women's safety was completely ignored.
02:17The DMK hit back strongly.
02:22CM Stalin accused the Governor of repeatedly undermining the dignity of the Assembly.
02:26As expected, the confrontation quickly
02:56turned political.
02:58The BJP and its allies accused the DMK of treating a constitutional post as its mouthpiece.
03:05It is a very big issue that, you know, expecting, as I already mentioned,
03:10expecting the Governor to be a mouthpiece of the DMK's government is not fair.
03:14You want the Governor to come and validate your lies.
03:17You want the Governor to come and support your manipulative ideas and thoughts.
03:21And the Governors refused to do that.
03:22It is very simple.
03:23So, the chief must be getting upset over that is obvious.
03:28The Governor categorically refused to state the same and speak the same.
03:33He sought the correct data and he wanted that to be set right.
03:38Because it is on the Assembly, it is going on records.
03:41And DMK government refused to do so.
03:43And MK Stalin, instead of sticking on to the Governor's speech,
03:47wants to have his own narrative filled into the Governor's speech.
03:51The DMK countered, accusing the Governor of acting with the political agenda.
03:59We have been used to it.
04:01Because we very well know our Assembly proceedings will be boycotted by the Governor.
04:07The Governor has his own political views in that aspect.
04:10So, he had a fixed agenda to express.
04:13He was in no mood to read the Governor's address at all.
04:16But Tamil Nadu is not alone.
04:20In Kerala, a fresh constitutional face-off has erupted between CM Vijayan and Governor Arlekar.
04:27Vijayan has accused the Governor of unilaterally adding and deleting portions of the Cabinet-approved policy address.
04:35He has alleged that references critical of the Centre were deliberately omitted.
04:39Assemblie Speaker also backed the CM.
05:04Not just the Speaker, Leader of Opposition VD Satisan also supported the government's stand.
05:34The governor's address, it was full of a fake claim of the government and half-truths.
05:45The pattern is same in other opposition-ruled states as well.
05:49In West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government remains at loggerheads with Governor Ananda Bose over SIR exercise and law and order issues.
05:56In Jammu and Kashmir, CM Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manos Sina have clashed over statehood and admin issues.
06:04In the past as well, then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Vinay Saqsena have frequently locked horns over civic and administrative issues.
06:15From pending bills to university appointments to administrative control, the friction between elected governments and appointed governors has become a recurring theme.
06:24It is in this backdrop that the Supreme Court has drawn a clear Laxman Rekha.
06:30Last year, the top court ruled that while no fixed timeline can be imposed on governors or the president to grant assent to bills,
06:38constitutional authorities can't sit on legislation indefinitely either.
06:42Acting on a reference from President Murmung, the court also clarified that prolonged or unexplained delays
06:48that frustrate the legislative process can invite limited judicial review.
06:55As election season approaches, logbhavans are no longer just ceremonial spaces.
07:00They are emerging as political battlegrounds.
07:03And the battle between governors and government shows no signs of ending anytime soon.
07:09Bureau Report, India Today.
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