The initial sense of calm during Tuesday’s Kerala Legislative Assembly session proved to be nothing more than a facade. While Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s two-hour policy address seemed to go off without a hitch, the real drama unfolded the moment he left the floor.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan immediately moved to clarify that the Governor had gone off-script, making tactical deletions and additions to the Cabinet-approved text. The Chief Minister was firm in his stance: the policy address approved by the State Cabinet — and based on constitutional principles — is the only version that holds weight.
According to the government, Arlekar skipped over critical lines in the 12th and 15th paragraphs. One missing sentence took aim at the Union Government for "undermining the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism," while another highlighted the frustration over Bills passed by the state legislature that remain stalled for long periods.
It has been learnt that in a particularly subtle move in the 17th paragraph, the Governor reportedly tweaked the phrasing regarding tax devolution. Rather than stating as a fact that these funds are constitutional entitlements and "not acts of charity," he prefaced the remark with "My government feels," effectively distancing himself from the sentiment.
Speaker AN Shamseer backed the Chief Minister, ruling that the House would only officially recognise the original text prepared by the Cabinet, noting that the Chair has held this position in the past. For those watching, the session initially felt like a return to the quiet, ritualistic addresses of years past, following the more combative tenure of Arif Mohammad Khan.
It almost looked as though the Governor was granting the government a "one-time amnesty" to air its grievances on the eve of the 2026 Assembly elections. However, the selective edits proved he wasn't willing to be a mere mouthpiece. Even with the omissions, the speech remained a scathing indictment of the Centre’s financial policies.
The most intriguing moment came at the very end, when Arlekar departed entirely from the written text to mention BR Ambedkar’s visit to the state 75 years ago. While it seemed like a harmless historical footnote, political observers suggest a deeper subtext. Ambedkar’s 1950 visit was centered on the Hindu Code Bills— a precursor to modernising personal laws. By suggesting the visit be "celebrated," some believe the Governor was subtly nodding toward the Uniform Civil Code, a long-standing goal of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party that remains a flashpoint for secular parties in Kerala.
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