A controversy has erupted after Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam skipped a few lines of his inaugural speech on the eve of commencement of the Kerala Legislative Assembly’s budget session. The lines skipped by the Governor are reportedly anti-Centre.

Led by chief-minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPI-M is in power in Kerala. Assembly’s first session of the year commenced in Trivandrum yesterday with a formal address by Governor. As per protocol, Governors in all the States usually read out the speech prepared by the Govt. in power. Governor according consent to the speech is a mere formality before he reads it out on the floor of the Assembly.

Govenor Sathasivam, who served as the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India from 2013-14, is said to have skipped a few lines in his speech which were critical of the Centre’s attitude in disregarding federal set-up and attempting to control District and other local body administrations. Governor also skipped reference to the efforts by a few religious organizations in the State to disrupt harmony and create trouble.

“Kerala ranks first in Indian States in maintaining law and order; lifestyle of people is of top-notch. Despite efforts by a few religious organizations to foment trouble, law and order is being maintained perfectly,” were the lines said to have been skipped by the Governor.  When contacted about the ‘skipping’, the chief-minister’s office neither confirmed nor denied it.