Thiruvananthapuram: Lok Bhavan on Wednesday rejected Speaker A N Shamseer's claim that Governor Rajendra Viswanatha Arlekar had sent a confidential letter related to his policy speech to the media before addressing it to him. In a statement, Lok Bhavan said it "categorically rejects and strongly refutes" the Speaker's allegation regarding the "highly confidential" letter.

Lok Bhavan said the original letter was served on the Speaker and that it is not aware of any media outlet publishing it. It also criticised the Speaker's response, saying constitutional rules and decorum do not permit replying to such communication through a press conference.

The statement said the Governor has consistently followed constitutional propriety and established conventions in his communication with the legislature. It added that public insinuations without verification undermine the dignity of constitutional offices. Lok Bhavan urged restraint and respect for constitutional norms in future discussions on such sensitive matters.

The statement comes after a row erupted over the policy address in the Assembly, which marked the commencement of the Budget session. The Speaker termed it "ironical" that a "highly confidential" letter addressed to him by the Governor had reached the media before him and said he would not reply to it. He added that if the Governor's office wanted a response, the letter should be delivered to him first and not sent to the media before he received it.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Governor had left out two sections and altered another portion of the policy speech approved by the cabinet. The Speaker later ruled that only the cabinet-approved version of the speech would prevail.