Kerala Governor's Short Policy Speech Sparks Outrage: Congress-UDF Decry "Mockery of Democracy

On Thursday, the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) headed by it denounced as a "mockery of democracy" and a "insult to the Assembly" the exceptionally short reading of the government's usual policy speech before the House by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.

V D Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said that reading aloud only the last sentence of the policy speech amounted to "contempt" for the Assembly.

There was also a disregard and disdain for the Assembly's norms and the mandates of the Constitution. We are making it clear that we strongly object to the same. After the policy speech, Satheesan addressed the media, saying, "It was a pathetic ending to the political drama of the state government and the Governor."

Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and deputy LoP P K Kunhalikutty also made similar statements to the media.

What happened in the House, according to both of them, was a mockery of democracy and the Assembly.

Khan expeditiously wrapped off the government's traditional policy presentation before the Assembly by reading just the last 136 words, an extraordinary measure that also conveyed his dissatisfaction with the state's governing Left front.

in about nine in the morning, Khan arrived in the Assembly, wrapped up his policy speech before nine two, and departed the House at nine four.

The running of the state's universities and his refusal to sign certain Assembly-passed measures are the main points of contention between Khan and the Left administration.

Additionally, it led to his being the target of several demonstrations by the CPI(M), its student organization, Students Federation of India (SFI), and its youth arm, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), across the state.