Governor address row: Minister H.K. Patil says Governor must apologise to people of state
Bengaluru: Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H. K. Patil on Friday accused Governor Thawarchand Gehlot of disrespecting the Legislature by not reading the Cabinet-approved address in full during the joint session, and said the Governor owed an apology to the people of the state.
Replying to a discussion in the Legislative Assembly on the controversy surrounding the Governor’s address, Patil rejected attempts by the BJP to draw parallels between the recent developments and earlier incidents in the House. He recalled that BJP legislators had once created disorder in the Assembly by tearing papers, confronting the Speaker at the Chair and disrupting proceedings, following which 18 MLAs were suspended. “Trying to justify yesterday’s events by comparing them with that incident is not acceptable,” he said.
Patil underlined that it was part of democratic convention for an elected government to present its policies through the Governor’s address. “The government does not draft the address to please the Governor. The speech contained 122 paragraphs and did not include any personal attacks on anyone,” he clarified.
During the debate, BJP member Suresh Kumar referred to the tenure of former Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj and alleged interference by the then central government. Responding, Patil said discomfort was natural when facts were stated. He added that the Constitution clearly defined the Governor’s responsibilities and that there were several Supreme Court and High Court judgments on the issue. “If we consider constitutional provisions, judicial rulings, statements made by the Union Home Minister in Parliament and established conventions relating to the President’s address, it is clear that the Governor violated constitutional norms in yesterday’s incident,” Patil asserted.
He also pointed out that opposition leaders who raised the issue had not named anyone responsible for allegedly insulting the Governor. While Legislative Council member B.K. Hariprasad’s name had been mentioned, Patil said no discussion or action could be taken in the Assembly as he was not a member of the House.
Dismissing allegations of disrespect, Patil said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with Cabinet colleagues, had personally escorted the Governor, greeted him and seen him off courteously. “At no point was the Governor insulted,” he said.
On his earlier remark that the Governor had “walked out” of the session, Patil said he stood by his statement. He explained that when the Governor was leaving, the Chief Minister had gestured for him to follow, and he had moved quickly in that direction. “Perhaps opposition members misunderstood this,” he added.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
