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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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
