Karnataka   

T.N. Chaturvedi to address joint session of legislature

Special Correspondent

I have consulted Advocate-General on the issue: Governor

Bangalore: Karnataka Governor T.N. Chaturvedi will address the joint session of the State legislature on Friday exercising his powers under Article 175 (1) of the Constitution. He has decided not to accede to the Congress' appeal to him against doing so.

"The Constitutional provision makes it clear that I can address either House or both jointly at any time, and I am doing that after consulting the Advocate-General," he told presspersons at the Raj Bhavan here on Thursday. He had to seek legal opinion because "the situation that has arisen in Karnataka has not happened anywhere else at any time after Independence," he added.

It is for the second time during the current session of the legislature that the Governor will be addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses. He had read out the address prepared by the previous Government on January 19 and the two Houses failed to adopt the motion of thanks as the Dharam Singh Government fell. On Friday, he will be reading out the address prepared by the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) Government.

Mr. Chaturvedi admitted that he was in a dilemma following the memorandum presented to him on Wednesday by Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N. Dharam Singh and some of the former Ministers requesting him not to address the joint session.

"I had to address the session on January 19 and its fate can be decided by the Speaker. I was referred to earlier instances in Orissa and West Bengal, but they were similar but not the same as here. There was also the case of the Chandra Shekhar Government at the Centre, which resigned in March 1991 soon after the President's address to Parliament. In the current situation, I have been guided by provisions of Article 175 (1) of the Constitution and not Article 176," the Governor clarified.

Mr. Chaturvedi said he wants to end the atmosphere of uncertainty that prevails among the government officials and people over the direction and policies the new Government. In deciding to address the joint session of the legislature, I am acting entirely within the norms of the Constitution, the Governor said. Congress sources said that the memorandum presented to the Governor on Wednesday failed to point out the impropriety of two joint sessions being held in the same session of the legislature.

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