Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 28 (IANS) The Kerala Lok Bhavan on Wednesday issued a sharp rebuttal to Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer’s remarks over a “highly confidential” letter sent by Governor Rajendra Arlekar, rejecting the allegations in their entirety and asserting that constitutional propriety and established conventions had been strictly followed.

In a statement released by Lok Bhavan, the Governor’s office said it “categorically rejects and strongly refutes” the Speaker’s claims regarding the handling of the communication.

It clarified that the original letter was duly served on the Speaker and that it had not come to the notice of Lok Bhavan that the contents of the letter had been published by the media, countering the Speaker’s assertion that details had appeared in news reports even before he received it.

The Lok Bhavan also took exception to the Speaker’s decision to respond publicly.

“The rules and decorum do not permit a press conference to reply to a letter addressed by the Constitutional Head of the State,” the statement said, adding that the manner of response itself departed from established institutional norms.

Emphasising the Governor’s conduct, the Lok Bhavan statement said Arlekar had, at all times, adhered to constitutional propriety, institutional dignity and established conventions in his communications with the Legislature.

It described public insinuations questioning these principles, without verification of facts, as “regrettable” and warned that such remarks undermine the dignity of high constitutional offices.

The Governor’s response comes a day after Speaker Shamseer publicly expressed displeasure over the letter, which was marked “highly confidential”, and said he had personally overseen its opening.

The Speaker claimed the letter sought video footage of a statement made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after the Governor concluded his policy address and left the Assembly, and that he had received only a “copy” of a communication that appeared to have reached the media first.

The episode unfolded against the backdrop of an earlier controversy over alleged deletions and alterations to the Governor’s policy address delivered to the Assembly on January 20.

The Chief Minister had accused the Lok Bhavan of deviating from the Cabinet-approved text, particularly on references to fiscal stress, Centre–State relations, and pending legislation.

The Speaker had backed the government, ruling that the Cabinet-approved version would be treated as authoritative.

With Lok Bhavan now urging restraint, responsibility and respect for constitutional norms, the latest exchange signals a further escalation in the standoff between the Governor’s office and the elected government, reviving wider debate over gubernatorial discretion, legislative privilege and the fragile balance between constitutional offices in Kerala.

–IANS

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