Govt gets a shock in assembly; Governor finishes policy address speech in one minute

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammed Khan once again intensified his cold war with the Kerala government as he shocked everyone in the assembly by reading out the policy address in just one minute and 24 seconds. He did not go into any new announcements by the government. Neither did he exchange a word with the Chief Minister, who greeted him with a bouquet. The Governor, who appeared stony-faced as he reached the assembly, left the assembly soon after finishing the policy address.

The Governor had earlier approved the draft policy address sent by the cabinet. The government saw this as the pacification of the cold war between the Governor and the government. However, the Governor's action in the assembly was a big blow for the government. The ministers will not be responding harshly towards the Governor.

The Governor created a national record by finishing his policy address within 2 minutes. He broke the record of former Bihar Governor Dayananda Yashwantrao Patil who had completed the policy address in five minutes. In Kerala, on January 29, 1982, Governor Jothi Venkatachalam had finished the policy address in six minutes.

The draft policy address approved by the cabinet was sent to the Governor on Sunday. The Governor signed it the very next day without even asking for an explanation. However, the Governor read only the first and last paragraphs of the policy address in the assembly. The relief for the government is that even if the Governor reads only one paragraph, he will be considered to have read the entire policy address.

The Governor did not mention the parts of the policy address criticizing the central government. There was no mention of the Nava Kerala Sadas attended by Chief Ministers and other ministers. After addressing the Chief Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition and the members as an introduction, the Governor read out the first paragraph of the policy address. After that, he read the last paragraph and finished his speech before leaving the assembly. He did not respond to the media who waited outside.

Governor insulted assembly, says Opposition; no need to criticize Governor, says LDF

• Accusing the Governor of insulting the House, the opposition alleged that the policy address was not presented. The opposition MLAs also said that the Governor and the ruling front were playing a drama in the assembly.
• When the Governor was about to read the policy address, an MLA from the opposition asked if the problems between the government and the Governor had been settled. The Governor did not respond to this.
• The Left Front legislative party meeting held later took a strategic stand not to criticize the Governor's action.
• Even after leaving the assembly, the Governor did not respond against the government. In the wake of the new situation, the Chief Minister and other ministers are not likely to attend the banquet to be held at Raj Bhavan today.