'Acting like party agents': Stalin seeks to scrap governor's address; to consult 'like-minded opposition parties'

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday said his party DMK would consult like-minded opposition parties to move a constitutional amendment to end the practice of the governor’s address at the start of the first assembly session.

This comes after a series of confrontations in Opposition-ruled states where governors refused to read state government-approved speeches.




Reacting to recent walkouts and curtailed addresses in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, Stalin accused governors of acting like “party agents” and undermining elected governments. In a post on X, he said the pattern was “clear and deliberate” and argued that abolishing the Governor’s address was now the only solution.

“First Tamil Nadu. Then Kerala. Now Karnataka. The pattern is clear and deliberate. Governors refusing to read the speech prepared by state governments and behaving like party agents, undermining duly elected state governments,” Stalin wrote.



He added, “As I stated earlier, the only solution now is to end the practice of commencing the first annual Assembly session with the Governor’s address. DMK will consult like-minded opposition parties across India and pursue a constitutional amendment in the very next parliamentary session to abolish this obsolete and irrelevant practice.”

Tamil Nadu governor's walkout

Stalin’s remarks come two days after Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi walked out of the Assembly before delivering his inaugural address, alleging disrespect to the national anthem and claiming his microphone was switched off.

The episode led to sharp exchanges inside the House, with Speaker M Appavu urging the governor to follow established Assembly conventions.

Raj Bhavan later issued a statement defending the walkout and alleging that issues such as atrocities against Dalits and sexual violence against Dalit women were omitted from the government’s speech. Opposition AIADMK leaders also staged a walkout over law and order issues.

Karnataka governor's walkout

A similar standoff unfolded in Karnataka today, when Governor Thawarchand Gehlot delivered only two lines of his customary address and walked out of the joint sitting of the Assembly and Council, refusing to read the full Cabinet-approved speech.

The shortened address triggered chaos in the House, with Congress members raising slogans and accusing the governor of violating constitutional norms.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said the governor’s conduct amounted to a breach of the Constitution and that the government was considering legal options.

Explaining the government’s stand, Siddaramaiah said the address prepared by the Cabinet had included objections to the Union government’s decision to replace MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat–Rozgar aur Ajeevika Mission (Rural), a move his government strongly opposes.

In a detailed statement on X, Siddaramaiah said, “By not reading the address prepared by the Cabinet at the first joint session of the year, the Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka has violated the Constitution. This act amounts to an affront to the House of elected representatives.”

He added that under Articles 176 and 163, the governor is bound to read the address prepared by the Council of Ministers and has no authority to substitute it with a speech of his own.

The Karnataka CM also linked the confrontation to substantive policy differences, particularly over rural employment. He said the new law replacing MGNREGA diluted guaranteed employment, removed decentralised decision-making powers of gram sabhas and panchayats, and disproportionately affected women, Dalits, workers and small farmers.

“By refusing to read the Cabinet-prepared address, the Governor has violated constitutional provisions and insulted the Legislature,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that the Congress government, along with legislators, would protest the move and examine legal remedies, including approaching the Supreme Court.

Kerala governor cuts short address

In Kerala, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan drastically curtailed his customary policy address to the Assembly at the start of the Budget session, delivering what became the shortest such speech in the House’s history. The address lasted just one minute and 18 seconds, with the governor reading only the first line and the concluding paragraph of the original 62-page speech.

By doing so, Khan technically fulfilled his constitutional obligation, but his action raised serious questions over whether differences with the elected government should extend to the Assembly, which represents the will of the entire state. The entire exercise, including the national anthem, concluded in under five minutes, after which the governor left the House.

The back-to-back confrontations have reignited a wider debate on the limits of administrative discretion. Constitutional experts have warned that refusing to deliver a Cabinet-approved address could invite judicial scrutiny, observing that while governors may express reservations, the Constitution mandates that the address be delivered to the House.
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