New Delhi: The ruling Congress in Karnataka has slammed governor Thawar Chand Gehlot of reading his own speech instead of the one prepared by the state government during his customary address to the state assembly.Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday (January 21) accused Gehlot of failing to discharge his Constitutional duties and said that by not reading the full speech prepared by the state government, governor Gehlot has acted like a “puppet” in the hands of the Union government, reported Press Trust of India.The development comes days after Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused governor Rajendra Arlekar of making omissions and modifications to the customary opening address on the first day of the state last session.“Every new year, the governor has to address the joint session and he has to read the speech prepared by the state cabinet. That is constitutional. Because, article 176 of the Indian Constitution and Article 163 says he or she – the Governor – shall read the speech prepared by the government or the cabinet. Today, instead of reading the speech prepared by the cabinet, he spoke the speech prepared by himself,” said CM Siddaramaiah.“This is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution. It clearly violates article 176 and 163 of the Constitution. Therefore it is not going to be the speech of the Governor. He has not discharged his duties as per the Constitution. He has not discharged his responsibilities as prescribed by the Indian Constitution. Therefore we are going to protest against the attitude of the governor. We are examining whether to approach the Supreme Court or not. We will let you know,” he added.Earlier on Wednesday (January 20) governor Gehlot had refused to deliver the customary address to the Karnataka assembly scheduled for Thursday, after taking exception to certain references to the Union government “repealing” the UPA-era MGNREGA, reported Press Trust of India.The governor wanted that 11 paragraphs in the government-prepared speech, which talks critically about the Union government and its policies be deleted.“It is deeply regrettable that the Governor of Karnataka is choosing not to read the Government’s speech in full. The Constitution is unambiguous on this. Under Article 176, the Governor is required to address the Legislature at the first session of the year and that address is the policy statement of the elected government, not his personal views. It is prepared by the Cabinet and he is constitutionally expected to deliver it as advised,” Congress leader and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge posted on X.“This is nothing but a partisan intervention that undermines the constitutional role and neutrality of the Governor’s office and it raises serious questions about who is really calling the shots,” he added.Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin too criticised the move and said that governors are undermining duly elected governments by behaving like party agents.“First Tamil Nadu. Then Kerala. Now Karnataka. The pattern is clear and deliberate. Governors refusing to read the speech prepared by state governments and behaving like party agents, undermining duly elected state governments. As I stated earlier, the only solution now is to end the practice of commencing the first annual Assembly session with the #Governor’s address,” Stalin posted on X.