On this Special Report, the focus is on the escalating friction between Governors and elected governments in opposition-ruled states. The programme highlights a stormy session in the Tamil Nadu Assembly where Governor R.N. Ravi walked out without delivering the customary address, alleging the speech was 'filled with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated claims'. Simultaneously, in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the Governor of unilaterally altering the cabinet-approved policy address by omitting references critical of the Centre. The report notes that this pattern of confrontation extends to West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir, where constitutional offices have become central to political storms. The Unidentified speaker notes that 'constitutional offices are once again at the center of political storms' as elections approach. The programme further examines the Supreme Court's intervention, which established a 'Lakshman Rekha' regarding the assent to bills, emphasizing that appointed authorities cannot indefinitely frustrate the legislative process of elected governments.
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.
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