Can Governors Omit From Speech Prepared By State Government? Looking At Rules & Past Instances

Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly witnessed a series of dramatic events that raised several questions about the exclusive rights of the Governor and powers of the Council of Ministers. The DMK government, headed by MK Stalin, clashed with the Governor, appointed by the centre, amid a row over his address to the assembly.

The allies and members of DMK protested in the assembly after the Governor, RN Ravi, in his address to the house, deviated from the original speech given to him by the state government and added his points. He skipped the speech parts, which mentioned the Dravidian Model of Governance, BR Ambedkar, and EVR Periyar.

Soon after his speech ended, Chief Minister MK Stalin stood up and showed his disappointment over the Governor's remarks. He moved a resolution to have 'on record' the official government speech given to the Governor. The CM mentioned that it's against the rules of the house that the Governor did not read the original script on which he gave his assent, reported Deccan Herald.

What Does The Constitution Say?

According to the Constitution of India, under Article 176, the governor of states is given the exclusive power to address a sitting of the assembly. It's a constitutional requirement that at the beginning of the first session of the legislative assembly, the governor shall address.

This system is derived from United Kingdom's convention system, where the governor's speech highlights the state policies and government initiatives. Likewise, the Constitution of India, under Article 163, binds the governor to take action on the aid and advice of the council of ministers.

Therefore, the speech that the Governor reads at the commencement of the assembly is prepared by the government, and it's termed valid on the governor's assent. In Tamil Nadu's case, governor RN Ravi gave his assent to the script but deviated from the same while addressing the house. It has now triggered a clash between the government and the Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Looking Back At Similar Instances

In Kerala, the former Governor, V Viswanathan, declined to read the critical references to the central government given to him as a speech by the state government. The incident happened in the 1970s when the Kerala CM EMS Namboodiripad of the Communist Party of India (M) stood up and pointed out that the Governor had skipped the portion given to him for his address to the house.

Recently, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, who has been at loggerheads with the government over its anti-citizenship act resolution passed in the assembly, said that though he has disagreement and reservations over the subject, he will read out the speech to honour CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

Similar instances were seen across the country where governors declined to read the script given to them for addressing the house. In West Bengal, former Governor and current Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, had gone into a tussle with the Mamata Banerjee government several times over the same matter. He has often been seen boycotting the convention system of addressing the house.

However, the Supreme Court advocates have always mentioned that a governor has to read the document prepared by the council of ministers as they are constitutionally bound to do so. The governors can't substitute the government's vision with their disposition and opinions. In most similar instances, the clashes of government and governors hit out at the norms of the parliamentary system of government.

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