Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has strongly condemned the recent walkout by the Governor of Karnataka from the state legislature, calling it yet another instance of Governors undermining duly elected state governments and disrespecting constitutional practice.The incident occurred during the joint session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and Council, where Governor Thawarchand Gehlot delivered only the opening greetings and then walked out instead of reading the full speech prepared by the state government — a customary practice at the start of the annual session.
In a post on social media platform X, Stalin said that this trend — first seen in Tamil Nadu, then Kerala, and now Karnataka — shows a deliberate pattern of Governors “behaving like party agents” rather than acting impartially as constitutional heads. He asserted that refusing to read the speech prepared by the elected government is equivalent to belittling the mandate of the people.
Stalin argued that continuing the practice of commencing the first assembly session of the year with the Governor’s address has become obsolete and unsuitable, given these repeated disruptions. He called for ending this tradition altogether and announced that his party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), would consult with like-minded opposition parties across India to push a constitutional amendment in the next Parliament session to abolish the Governor’s address at the start of the year’s legislative sessions.