In Focus by The Hindu Should the Governor's address be scrapped?
Feb 5, 2026
Alok Prasanna Kumar, a legal policy expert on constitutional design, and P.D.T. Achary, a former Lok Sabha Secretary General with deep parliamentary experience, debate governors' duties under Articles 163, 175 and 176. They discuss walkouts and edits to inaugural speeches, whether the address is a colonial relic, limits on gubernatorial discretion, impeachment safeguards, and institutional fixes to align incentives.
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Governor's Address Is Constitutionally Mandatory
- Article 176 makes the governor's annual address mandatory to inform the legislature of the session's purpose and business.
- P.D.T. Achary warns skipping the address violates the constitution and undermines the governor's oath.
Governor Is Part Of The Legislature
- The governor is part of the legislature under Article 168 and functions like the British monarch in council as a constitutional symbol.
- Alok Prasanna Kumar stresses this design makes the governor a figurehead with limited independent powers.
Incentives Drive Gubernatorial Partisanship
- The root problem is incentive structure: governors are appointed and removed by the Union, so they follow Union directives.
- Alok Prasanna Kumar calls this a constitutional design defect that politicizes the office.