A massive tiff is brewing between Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led government in the state, over the government's decision to not have the Governor's customary address at the beginning of the Budget session. The state government is set to introduce the Finance Bill (budget) on Monday (March 7). The government has decided not to have the Governor's address at the beginning of the session, and said this is because this is a continuation of the previous Assembly session and not a fresh session.
Governor Tamilisai has questioned the move and expressed her displeasure in a statement. “The government has in its wisdom convened the Budget Session from March 7, 2022, without the customary Governor's address as it is not a new session but a continuation of the earlier session. The House is meeting after five months. Under normal circumstances, when the House is convened after such a long interval, it is a new session, but the government has chosen to continue the earlier session,” she said in a statement.
Tamilisai further said that the government had initially told her the session would start with her address and later changed its mind. “The government, while seeking the recommendation of the Governor for the introduction of the Financial Bill, had mentioned that the session would commence with the Governor's address. Unfortunately, on clarification, it was stated that it was inadvertent,” she said, adding that it was "ironic" that following a democratic convention was stated as "inadvertent."
She added however that she was recommending the introduction of the Finance Bill nonetheless, as it was a question of people’s welfare. “I, however, respecting the Constitutional convention and going beyond political considerations and keeping with the spirit of cooperative federalism, have conveyed my recommendation for introduction of the Financial Bill,” she said.
"By not holding the Governor’s address in this Budget session, the members now stand to lose out on the opportunity to discuss the previous year's performance of the government," she said.
Telangana Minister for Legislative Affairs Vemula Prashanth Reddy however said, “It's not unconstitutional to not have the Governor’s address when the past session was not prorogued. Nowhere in the Constitution has it been said that Budget sessions should be started by the Governor. What constitution says is that Governor should address new sessions in each calendar year.”
Sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) meanwhile said that the Governor's political leniency with an opposition party is the reason behind the fallout between Raj Bhavan and the government.
The fallout has reached a peak at a time when Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is raising his criticism against the Union government led by the BJP, alleging that it is ruining the country's cooperative federalism.
However, it was not the first time Governor Tamilisai is having a standoff with the state government. Last year, the Governor rejected the Cabinet's nomination of Padi Kaushik Reddy as a Member of Legislative Council under Governor’s quota; later he was elected through Council elections. There is also a delay in the appointment of protem chairperson of the council.
In the Parliament and state legislatures, it is customary to have the President or Governor’s address at the beginning of every new session. The President/Governor in their address reads out a statement prepared by the government, about the work and achievements of the government, and its policy stands. As a ceremonial head, the President/Governor is not supposed to waver from the government’s stand in the speech. In 2020 however, there was a controversy in Kerala after Governor Arif Mohammed Khan read out the Kerala government’s stand on CAA only after making a personal remark of dissent. With governors being appointees of the Union government, there have been several criticisms of various governors overstepping their role in the past, including Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, and former Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.