Karunakaran flays Govt. stance

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 3. The senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, has given a new turn to the row over the Governor's action of skipping a portion of his address to the Assembly by criticising the State Government for its failure to appropriately react to it.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr. Karunakaran demanded that the Government express its displeasure at the Governor's action besides taking it up with the President of India and the Centre. If this did not bear fruit, the State Government should think about the next step.

He said that the Government's response in the Assembly and news reports had created an impression that the Government was reluctant to go in for a confrontation with the Governor. He felt that the Chief Minister had failed to protect the right of the State Government.

``This is not a personal issue between the Governor and the Chief Minister. The Government should not take positions on the basis of the Governor's likes and dislikes. The Cabinet should have met and taken the necessary action. The Governor's address is a constitutional requirement. It is a policy pronouncement which analyses the existing political situation and declares the Government's programmes.''

While announcing the new policy, the onus was on the Government to explain to the people the reasons for the current difficulties. It is natural that the previous Government's policies should be criticised. The Governor's address should be seen in this context. The Chief Minister is expected to protect the rights of the State Government and if this is not done then it is unfortunate,'' he said.

The timing of Mr. Karunakaran's criticism is significant, coming as it does when the State Assembly is considering a motion of thanks to the Governor's Address. He said he had waited for four days before deciding to open up.

Mr. Karunakaran said that the Governor's address is usually deemed to have been read only on two occasions - when the Governor is unable to read due to bedlam in the House or on account of ill-health. But in the case of the present Governor, a portion of the Cabinet-approved speech had been left out.

Mr. Karunakaran recalled a similar incident which took place when he was the Chief Minister when the then Governor, Ms. Ram Dulari Sinha, had expressed her reservations about certain portions of her address. He said that in a subsequent meeting with her he had pointed out to the constitutional position that the Governor should read the contents of the address approved by the Cabinet though he was not averse to examining the use of certain words.

``In the context of the silence on the part of the Governor and the State Government, one cannot blame the people if they were to think that the contentious portions were deliberately left out by the Governor,'' Mr. Karunakaran said and wondered what would happen if the Governor were to refuse to approve certain policy decisions taken in accordance with the Constitutional provisions.

The Governor had left out a paragraph of his address which had criticised the previous LDF Government. The issue figured in the State Assembly on Monday, when the House took up the motion of thanks to the Governor's address. The Chief Minister, Mr. A. K. Antony, contended that the printed version of the address would hold good as it had been approved by the Cabinet. But he did not clarify why the portion had been left out by the Governor.

Mr. Karunakaran also drew a parallel between the former Tamil Nadu Governor, Ms. Fathima Beevi's action in the current row in that State and the Kerala Governor's position. He said that the Tamil Nadu Governor had done the right thing by sending the Chief Secretary's report to the Centre as she did not have a separate secretariat and was bound by the Government's actions. The Kerala Governor was also bound by the recommendations of the State Cabinet, he asserted.

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Section  : Southern States
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