The Kerala Legislative Assembly witnessed extraordinary scenes on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan corrected the policy address made by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar after the latter had made his departure.
After seeing off the Governor, Mr. Vijayan returned to the Assembly and announced that Mr. Arlekar had made changes to paragraphs 12, 15 and 16 in the policy speech. While certain sections in the policy address were omitted, Mr. Arlekar made certain additions elsewhere, Mr. Vijayan said.
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According to the speech approved by the Cabinet, paragraph 12 began thus: “Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face severe fiscal stress arising from a series of adverse Union government actions that undermine the constitutional principles of fiscal federalism.” In Mr. Arlekar’s speech, it was presented thus: “Despite these social and institutional achievements, Kerala continues to face severe fiscal stress arising from curtailment of advances.”
In paragraph 15, the Governor omitted the following section: “Bills passed by State legislatures have remained pending for prolonged periods. My government has approached the Supreme Court on these issues, which have been referred to a Constitution Bench.”
