Hyderabad: Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao visited Raj Bhavan and met Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday after a gap of nearly nine months.
The CM arrived at Raj Bhavan to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court. He exchanged pleasantries with the Governor by presenting her a bouquet soon after his arrival and also during the high tea after the swearing-in ceremony along with union minister G.Kishan Reddy.
There were speculations that the CM might not attend the ceremony because of the reported differences with the Governor. However, TRS sources said by attending the event, the CM had sent a clear message that neither he nor the state government had any intention to violate the protocol or the Constitutional obligations.
The CM avoided Raj Bhavan since October 2021 following reported differences with the Governor on various issues. The CM last visited Raj Bhavan on October 11, 2021 to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court.
Since October 2021, the CM has avoided Raj Bhavan due to rumoured disagreements with the Governor over a number of issues. On October 11, 2021, the CM made his final trip to Raj Bhavan to witness Justice Satish Chandra Sharma’s oath-taking as the Chief Justice of Telangana High Court.
Differences between CM and Governor came to the fore after the Governor kept the cabinet decision nominating Padi Kaushik Reddy as MLC under Governor’s quota in August 2021 pending for several months. The CM was forced to nominate Kaushik Reddy under MLAs quota later in December 2021.
The cold war between the CM and Governor further escalated after Governor announced to launch ‘Praja Darbars’ in Raj Bhavan in 2022 and set up ‘Grievances/ Complaints Box’ at Raj Bhavan on January 1, 2022, to enable people to lodge their grievances and complaints.
The relations with CM deteriorated further after she delivered her Republic Day speech at Raj Bhavan on January 26, 2022 without cabinet approval and praised the schemes being implemented by BJP-led government at the Centre.
This cold war took a new turn when the CM chose to open the legislative budget session in March of this year without the governor’s customary address. The Governor lashed out at the state government over this and also accused the ruling dispensation of disrespecting Raj Bhavan and not following protocols. The CM and his cabinet were not present at this year’s Republic Day and Ugadi celebrations.
Earlier, the state government had not invited the Governor for the inauguration of the renovated Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri in March. Additionally, Tamilisai alleged that the state government did not follow protocol when she attended the tribal fair Sammakka Saralamma jatara in February in Medaram, Mulugu district.
The Governor had complained to the Centre about the state government not following protocols during her visits to several districts in the state.
On June 10, the Governor held ‘Praja Darbar’ receiving representations from women at Raj Bhavan. This evoked sharp criticism from ministers and TRS leaders who accused the Governor of overstepping her constitutional limits and functioning as a BJP leader.
However, she defended her move saying she only wanted to act as a bridge between the state government and the public. Further, she also dismissed the criticism that she was overstepping her constitutional limits. In fact, she argued that she had every constitutional right to serve the public as the highest authority and questioned why she should be denied the opportunity to serve the people. “Those saying it is unconstitutional should first respect the Constitution,” the Governor had remarked.
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