‘Governor’s speech is nothing but a declaration of govt policies’: Law minister HK Patil

BENGALURU: Law Minister H K Patil on Wednesday met Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan ahead of addressing the joint session of Assembly and Council on Thursday.

Highlighting the disagreement, Minister HK Patil says, “The objection of the Governor’s office, and in some matters of the Governor, is that 11 paragraphs of the address that we have sent are not acceptable. They are objectionable. But for us, we don’t feel like that. They are the voices of the Government, of the people. We want people’s voices to be heard by the Centre and the nation at large through the Governor’s speech. We have requested him to come and address”.

#WATCH | Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil says, “The objection of the Governor’s office, and in some matters of the Governor, is that 11 paragraphs of the address that we have sent are not acceptable. They are objectionable. But for us, we don’t feel like that. They are the voices… pic.twitter.com/HKxQz0WMB5

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2026

He added, “The Governor will address the joint session of the Assembly and Council on Thursday at 11 am. He will address us. The government, the Cabinet, has prepared its speech and it has sent it to him. He is expected to address the joint session. The Constitution of India mandates that the address of the Govt is to be addressed by the Governor. The governor’s speech is nothing but a declaration of govt policies, programs and views. We are not in agreement with the Centre that MGNREGA should be repealed. We were prepared to change the language if there was anything objectionable. But they were keen that it should be deleted. The Cabinet has made a decision, we can’t tell the Governor whether it will be done or not. We will consult the CM. CM will make the final call. Then we will communicate that to the Raj Bhavan.”

Meanwhile, Minister HK Patil announced on January 14 that a joint session of the legislature will be held on Thursday, during which the Governor will be invited to address the House.

“We have decided to convene a joint session on January 22. “The Governor will be invited to address the joint session, and the Legislature will remain in session till the end of the month. “Secondly, the House will be in session from the 22nd to the 31st, and we will have a special discussion on the VB Gram G Bill,” he said.

He further added that “the state would also raise concerns with the Centre over employment guarantee. “We will also discuss the suggestions and pressure we will be putting on the central government to revive the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Act,”

Earlier, the Minister condemned the Centre’s decision to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), describing it as “draconian”. “It is unfortunate that the government of India has repealed the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This is one of the draconian decisions the Government of India has made, which is to repeal MGNREGA,” Patil said.

He said the Act had ensured the right to work for rural citizens. “MGNREGA was giving the right to work to the people, but the central government has snatched that right from people, particularly those agricultural labourers, labourers who were dwelling in rural areas,” he said.

Earlier, the Congress announced a nationwide three-phase agitation titled “MGNREGA Bachao” following the Centre’s newly enacted Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh accused the Centre of attempting to centralise the employment guarantee scheme and acting arbitrarily.

Venugopal said the Congress Working Committee had approved a structured campaign titled “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram”. “Phase 1 will begin on January 8 with a full-day preparatory meeting at Pradesh Congress Committee offices,” he said. “District-level press conferences will be held on January 10, followed by a one-day fast at district headquarters on January 11 near the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar,” Venugopal added.

As per the party, Phase 2 of the campaign will run from January 12 to January 30. “Panchayat-level chaupals will be organised across all gram panchayats, and a letter from the Congress president will be delivered,” Venugopal said. He added that Vidhan Sabha-level nukkad sabhas and pamphlet distribution are also planned. “On January 30, Martyrs’ Day, the party will hold peaceful sit-ins at the ward level with MGNREGA workers,” he said.

“Phase 3 will begin on January 31 with district-level MGNREGA Bachao dharnas at DC and DM offices till February 6,” Venugopal said. “This will be followed by state-level gheraos of Vidhan Sabha buildings from February 7 to February 15 and four zonal AICC rallies across the country between February 16 and February 25,” he added. (ANI)