Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20 (PTI) The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday witnessed an unprecedented situation when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated, soon after the Governor concluded his address to the House,
that Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar did not read out the state Cabinet-approved policy address in its entirety.
The omitted portions included sections criticising the BJP-ruled Centre’s fiscal policy and references to Bills pending approval from the Raj Bhavan.
According to Vijayan, the Governor did not read out the opening of paragraph 12 or the concluding portion of paragraph 15 of the document.
In addition, Arlekar made an insertion into paragraph 16 of the 157-paragraph, 72-page-long policy address, the chief minister informed the House.
The chief minister said one of the portions avoided by the Governor was -- "Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face severe fiscal stress arising from a series of adverse Union government actions that undermine the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism."
The other was -- "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" -- Vijayan pointed out.
Regarding the addition made by Arlekar, Vijayan said that the Governor added "My government considers" to the second half of paragraph 16 which reads -- "Tax devolution and Finance Commission grants are constitutional entitlements of States and not acts of charity, and any pressure on constitutional bodies entrusted with this task undermines federal principles".
Vijayan urged the Speaker that the policy address approved by the state cabinet should be acknowledged as the official version without including the omissions and additions by the Governor.
Speaker A N Shamseer said that omitting of or additions to the cabinet approved address is not officially recognised as per the past precedents of the House and the same shall be applicable this time also. PTI HMP ADB
