The constitutional provision that the first legislative session of the new year should be started by a policy announcement by the Governor has often ended up in an open war of words and boycotts between the governor and the government in many states over the years. The tension between the governor and the government erupts when the governor begins to react by forgetting his position. Kerala also witnessed clashes between the governor and the government in the recent past. Unfortunately, governor Arif Mohammad Khan's policy address in the Assembly yesterday came after the unacceptable outcome of such a confrontation. The state assembly had witnessed verbal exchanges, boycotts, and unwelcome clashes in the House in connection with governors' policy addresses in the past. However, what happened on Thursday ahead of the governor's policy address was never heard of in the history of the state. The government had to make an unprecedented compromise to persuade the governor to sign the policy address. A high-ranking official had to be removed from his post. Although the governor finally yielded to the conciliatory efforts, he left the assembly on Friday after witnessing the repercussions of his action. It was a rare sight to witness the ruling party express their dissatisfaction and disdain for the governor, while the opposition boycotted the policy address. The controversy surrounding the policy declaration speech reinforces the argument that the powers and interventions of the governor need to be reconsidered.

In his policy address, which lasted for an hour and eight minutes, the Governor tried to enumerate the achievements of the second Pinarayi government. At the same time, he also strongly criticized the central policies. The governor did not hide his concern that Kerala, which is making progress in various fields, is not even getting the benefits it deserves from the Centre. The Centre is acting in a way that undermines federal notions. The Centre is leaving the states in the dark by passing legislation unilaterally and arbitrarily, even on concurrent issues. The states are experiencing huge hardships due to this. The governor also criticized the Centre's practice of repeatedly encroaching on the jurisdiction of the states. It must be noted that the governor did not omit any section criticizing the central policies.

However, the governor did not announce any new projects or new policies in his policy address. The policy address highlighted the achievements of the LDF government so far in various fields. The governor highlighted the importance of realizing the SilverLine project as soon as possible. He also announced the good news that the first phase of K-FON, another megaproject, will be
completed soon. The governor also spoke about various initiatives such as land and title deeds for landless people, security plans for tourists, encroachment prevention, quick permit for small and micro enterprises, development of the Kochi-Palakkad Industrial Corridor, strengthening of Crop Insurance Programme and 481 acres of land for the petrochemical complex at Ambalamukal. Public welfare projects will be implemented in a time-bound manner on the model of 100-day action plans. Steps will be taken to compile statistics on unorganized workers. Special treatment centers will be set up for guest workers. The government hopes to create more jobs by increasing capital investment. It assured that steps will be taken to address the problems of the industrialists. Arrangements will be made to connect the manufacturers with the market.

The governor pointed out that Kerala was a model in dealing with Covid and providing better health care to all sections of the people. The fact that this achievement has been sustained in immunization as well highlights the success of the health sector. The governor also stated that the fact that Kerala is leading in the country in all the Sustainable Development indicators was a testament to the excellent performance of the government.

Although the Opposition initially attempted to interrupt the governor's policy address by raising slogans, they later staged a walkout in protest. With this, the governor was able to complete his speech without any interruption. At one point, the governor even went on to scold the Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan. It was reassuring that the usual practice of policy address speech ended in this way without any other untoward incidents. It is generally expected that there will be opportunities for a major development boom around the world following the weakening of Covid. Let's hope that the state will leap forward on the path of development by keeping the promises made in the policy address.