K'taka Guv submits report to President on legislature joint session drama
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has submitted a detailed report to President Droupadi Murmu over the developments in connection with the joint session of the state legislature recently that saw a row erupt over his customary address to the Legislative Assembly and Council, official sources said on Saturday.
According to sources, the governor's report covers the developments on January 22, the day of the joint session, and the previous day -- when a government delegation led by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil met him, following Gehlot's refusal to deliver the customary address.
Gehlot consulted legal experts ahead of sending the report, they added.
High drama played out in Karnataka Assembly on Thursday when the governor refused to read out the state-prepared address to a joint session of the state legislature and confined his speech to just three lines, evoking sharp reaction from the Congress government in the state.
Gehlot took exception to certain references to the Centre "repealing" the UPA-era MGNREGA in the state-prepared speech.
A total of 10 paragraphs, which had critical reference to the Centre and its policies, touching upon the MGNREGA and issues including devolution of funds were said to have irked the governor, who wanted them to be deleted. But, this was not acceptable to the government.
According to the sources, the governor in his report has told the President that he had suggested the state government to "modify" the draft speech by removing paras which criticised the central government for enacting the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, and also about its impact.
Gehlot has also detailed in the report, the action taken by him to address the joint session as per the Constitutional mandate.
The behavior of the ruling Congress party members, who shouted slogans and tried to gherao him during his exit from the Assembly hall, and reactions of leaders of both ruling Congress and opposition BJP in the aftermath, have also been detailed in the report, official sources added.
As the Governor ended his address with three lines on January 22, the treasury benches, including ministers such as H K Patil, stood up and requested Gehlot to complete the speech.
As Gehlot proceeded towards the exit door, some ruling legislators, including MLC B K Hariprasad, tried to gherao him by shouting slogans. They were removed by the security staff.
The Congress government had accused Gehlot of "violating the Constitution" by refusing to read the state-prepared address to the joint session of the legislature and confining his customary speech to just three lines.
It also accused him of "disrespecting the national anthem" by walking out of the House before it was played and demanded that he apologise to the people of the state and the Assembly.
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India is going to do this more and more often: Sanju Samson
New Delhi (PTI): Sanju Samson, whose exploits fuelled India's recent T20 World Cup triumph, on Sunday asserted that the country is poised to rule global cricket for years to come.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 in the capital, Samson also likened his exploits during India's triumphal march to the title to a movie, and said it was yet to sink in.
"Not yet, I am still like, actually, when I get up in the morning I'm like 'has it really happened'. So honestly, that's the feeling," Samson said when asked about last Sunday's triumph.
He added, "But I feel that in the coming years with the quality of players we have in our country, this is going to be repeated. It's not going to be, okay, it has happened once in a while. The amount of players which are coming up and definitely India is going to do this more and more often."
Samson was named Player of the Tournament in the 2026 T20 World Cup after a historic campaign, scoring 321 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200 in just five innings to lead India to the title.
Despite not playing initially, he delivered 80-plus scores in the must-win Super Eights match against the West Indies, the semi-final against England, and in the final against New Zealand.
Samson further said he has been dreaming to help India win a World Cup.
"Absolutely, I think you can only dream where you want to go, but you can't definitely ride the path towards it. So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do this a couple of years ago.
"I want to win a World Cup for my country, but it had its own plan, its own script. So, but more like a movie. I enjoyed it," Samson said.
The unassuming star from Kerala has been toiling for years to leave an impact on the game, and the T20 World Cup was his finest moment.
"As I said before, I wanted to do something like this, then I got pulled out of my journey, and then suddenly, the team wanted me to come and contribute, and that's when I actually mentally flipped a bit... I think, before that, in the New Zealand series, the focus was all about myself.
"But in the World Cup, the focus is all about the team. I think what does a team require. And in the Zimbabwe game, right from that moment, everyone wanted me to contribute to it. I had a role to play.
"So that's when the shift happened and the confidence that, okay, 'the team needs you, Sanju', and let's do what you can the best. So that's where everything started from.
"And then I had the experience, I was working mentally. I was working physically, so I knew that I'm ready, and I knew that this is meant for me, so I just had to do what I know best.
"So, I've been playing this format for a very long time and then it was just about planning and going out there and executing it," Samson said.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj described the triumph as a "miracle" from a personal point of view as he was not even part of the initial squad for the tournament and was included only as a replacement for an injured Harshit Rana.
"I was not in the initial squad, then I got it, played a game, and now I have been part of two World Cup-winning squads. I would say it's a miracle for me," Siraj said.
