Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot walks out of Assembly session after 2-line speech: Why it matters

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot is now the third to make headlines recently over governors' customary addresses in their state assemblies.

Indeed, the joint session of the Legislative Assembly turned into a battlefield after Gehlot spoke just two lines—which included greeting the Chief Minister, Speaker, and others—and then walked out without reading the remainder of the speech prepared by the state government.

"My government is committed to doubling the economic, social and physical development of the state. Jai Hind, Jai Karnataka," he said at the end.

Governor Gehlot was allegedly put off by "11 paragraphs" in the speech that were allegedly critical of the Centre and its policies, including the recent repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in favour of the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or 'VB-G RAM G' for short.

This made Congress MLAs furious. Led by Legislative Council member B.K. Hariprasad, they shouted insults at Gehlot, and even tried to block him and force him to deliver his speech.

However, marshals intervened, and escorted Governor Gehlot out of the raucous Vidhana Soudha.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah also called out Gehlot over the incident, saying that the act was in "violation" of the Constitution. The state government is currently mulling whether to move the Supreme Court over the walkout.

This is the third such political issue sparked by a governor after Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi had walked out of the Legislative Assembly without delivering an opening address, due to what he called "inaccuracies" in his speech drafted by the state government.

While Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar did not walk out of the Legislative Assembly session, he did make changes to his speech, which became a political flashpoint against the state government.