Kerala governor seeks clarification on his address to Assembly

In an unusual move, Kerala governor RS Gavai has sought clarification from the state government on the status of Cabinet approval to his customary address to the Assembly on February 24.
    
The governor's move came after the opposition parties submitted a memorandum to him last evening on the "failure" of the LDF government to meet its Constitutional obligation of getting the Cabinet's full approval to the governor's Address.
    
Official sources said the letter from the governor's office to chief secretary Neela Gangadharan on the issue was handed over to the chief minister's office last evening.
    
In a written reply to a query by Kerala Congress-M MLA Joseph M Puthussery under the RTI Act, the State Information Commission had stated that the "approval" of the full cabinet meeting to the address was not in the minutes.
   
However, a Cabinet sub-committee, appointed by the Cabinet on February 10, had approved the draft of the address. In the full cabinet meeting held on February 17, it was not taken up, the information furnished under the RTI Act said, which the opposition said was in violation of precedents.
    
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala had also written a letter to the governor on the issue.