Kerala Governor P Sathasivam on Monday avoided certain portions from the text of his Budget speech to the state Assembly, which appeared to be critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Centre, The Indian Express reported.
Sathsivam’s decision came at a time of several reported incidents of violence between workers of the RSS and Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The transcript of the governor’s speech, which the state government had prepared, read, “There has not been any instance of communal riot in our state despite the plotting by certain communal outfits.” Sathsivam omitted mentioning “plotting by certain communal outfits” during his speech to the Assembly.
The governor also avoided saying: “We are also perturbed by the tendency of the central government to ignore the best traditions of cooperative federalism by bypassing the state government and directly dealing with the district authorities and local bodies.’’
Sathsivam, however, adhered to the transcript while criticising the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax regime and demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
“Demonetisation and the introduction of the GST in an inappropriate manner and time has resulted in serious deceleration in the economy and mounting unemployment,” he said. He followed the transcript when he said that “during the past year, a month-long campaign was carried out across India on certain flimsy ground by some communal outfits.”
The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left government and the Congress accused the governor of trying to appease the Centre. The Kerala BJP, however, said Sathsivam had used his “discretionary powers” and accused the communists of trying to politicise the matter.
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