No mention of CAA in Telangana Governor's maiden speech

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  6 March 2020 3:31 PM GMT
No mention of CAA in Telangana Governors maiden speech

Hyderabad: Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, in her maiden speech in the Legislative Assembly on 6 March, listed out the achievements of the TRS government and showered praises on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for over half-an-hour. Surprisingly, there was no mention of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR), and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Though it’s a known fact that the Governor just reads out the speech copy handed over by the government and approved by the state Cabinet, there were reports that the TRS government may incorporate its stand against the CAA, NPR, and NRC in the Governor's speech. This had fuelled speculations that the Governor may either object to reading out the remarks or express her reservations on this issue, like the Kerala Governor.

It may be recalled that the Kerala government has strongly criticised the CAA, NPR, and NRC and decided not to implement them in Kerala. It had incorporated its stand in the Governor’s speech. While addressing the Assembly, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had created a furore when he said, "I'm going to read this paragraph against the CAA, NPR, and NRC because the honourable Chief Minister wants me to read this. Although I hold the view that this does not come under the definition of policy or programme.”

The TRS government in Telangana, too, is opposing the CAA, NPR, and NRC and there were reports that it would also follow in the footsteps of Kerala by incorporating its stand in the Governor’s speech. However, that did not happen. In fact, the TRS government avoided a repeat of Kerala fiasco by ignoring the CAA, NPR, and NRC from the Governor’s speech.

Official sources said KCR himself took the initiative to ensure that there was no confrontation with the Governor when he met her at Raj Bhavan two days ago. Both came to an understanding that the government will not mention the controversial CAA in the Governor's speech and the Governor, too, will not make any comments. However, the CM has decided to pass resolutions in the Assembly against the CAA, NPR, and NRC in the ongoing Budget session.

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