Karnataka guv walks out of Assembly taking cue from Tamil Nadu, Kerala governors

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday walked out of the joint sitting of the legislature reading just a line or two from his address, prepared by the government, as it largely targeted the Modi government over VB-G RAM G law, among others.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called the governor's action an insult to the Legislature and said the government would explore moving the supreme court against him.

The Congress lawmakers protested and tried to gherao Gehlot as he walked out of the assembly hall after reading just two sentences, and concluding his shortest speech with a Jai Hind, jai Karnataka.


"Our party and government, along with MLAs and MLCs, are protesting this across the state. Copies of the government-prepared address have been distributed to all legislators," Siddaramaiah said in a statement.

The Governor, he added, has chosen to justify VB-G RAM G law and acted as though he lacks independence, aligning himself with the Union Government’s position. "As the elected government, we oppose this legislation, and these objections were therefore included in the Cabinet-approved address."

The high drama in Bengaluru was on expected lines as it closely followed similar instances in Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Tuesday on the first day of their respective assembly sessions. In Chennai, Governor RN Ravi walked out of the assembly without delivering his speech while in Thiruvananthapuram, governor RV Arlekar dropped parts of the speech that were critical of the Modi government.

The Opposition BJP called it a `black day' saying never in the history of Karnataka did MLAs gherao the Governor. The Congress members have lowered the dignity of the House, the BJP said, while calling for suspension of the members involved in such conduct.