Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 27 (NationPress) - Kerala Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer voiced significant dissatisfaction on Tuesday regarding what he termed as improper behavior from the office of Governor Rajendra Arlekar, igniting a renewed conflict in the ongoing standoff between Lok Bhavan and the elected government.

In a media briefing, Shamseer revealed that he received a letter from the Governor’s office labeled as “highly confidential”, which led him to personally supervise its unsealing — a break from standard procedure.

“It was astonishing to discover that the letter's details had already surfaced in news reports before it was delivered to me,” the Speaker stated.

Shamseer indicated that the letter requested video footage of remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan following the Governor's policy address and his departure from the Assembly.

“What is concerning is that the Speaker received merely a ‘copy’ of a communication that seems to have been initially disseminated to the media. I do not hold the Governor personally responsible for this, but rather his office. Since it is only a copy, I will refrain from responding,” he added.

These comments from the Speaker come shortly after a dispute regarding amendments made to the Governor’s policy address delivered to the Assembly on January 20.

Chief Minister Vijayan had openly criticized the omissions and modifications to the Cabinet-approved document.

He emphasized that significant sections mentioning Kerala’s financial difficulties, attributed to what the state perceives as detrimental actions by the Union government, pending state legislation, and fiscal federalism issues had been either excluded or altered.

Vijayan highlighted that Article 176 of the Constitution requires the Governor to present the government’s policy statement during the first session of the year, and established legislative norms recognize the Cabinet-approved address as the authoritative version.

Supporting the Chief Minister, Speaker Shamseer previously ruled that any deviation from the Cabinet-approved text breached legislative norms, affirming that the original document would be regarded as the official record for the Assembly and the media.

This incident has rekindled discussions surrounding the constitutional role of Governors, relationships between the Centre and States, and the boundaries of gubernatorial discretion.

Senior BJP figure and former Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai commented, stating that Governors are facing “humiliation” in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Political analysts caution that the rising institutional tensions could intensify as elections draw near, highlighting the delicate equilibrium between ceremonial constitutional roles and the power of an elected government.