Courtesy demanded Kerala government consulted me before moving Supreme Court on CAA: Governor Arif Khan | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Courtesy demanded Kerala government consulted me before moving Supreme Court on CAA: Governor Arif Khan

Hindustan Times, Thiruvananthapuram | By
Jan 16, 2020 04:15 PM IST

The Governor had also openly criticised the resolution passed by the state assembly against CAA last month saying it was unconstitutional and had no legal validity.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohamad Khan on Thursday hit out at the Pinarayi Vijayan government saying it should have taken him into confidence before challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA in the Supreme Court.

Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan at a press conference in New Delhi, on December 21, 2019.(PTI Photo)
Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan at a press conference in New Delhi, on December 21, 2019.(PTI Photo)

“Courtesy demanded prior permission should have taken from the constitutional head of the state. I came to know about this from newspapers. If not the approval, they could have at least informed me. This is breach of protocol and courtesy,” he said, adding that everyone has right to move the highest court but the state should have at least apprised him about it.

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“I am not saying what they did is wrong. They have every right to do so. But they must have kept me in the loop. Being the constitutional head they should have informed me about this,” he lamented. Khan has taken a consistent position on the CAA and even said the state will not be affected in any way and protest in this regard was “a futile exercise”.

“No one, including me, is above the law of the land. I don’t know how the state assembly can question the law passed by Parliament. It is binding on everyone to respect the rule of law. I am not a rubber stamp,” he said.

Expressing his displeasure earlier, the Governor had denied the nod for an ordinance to delimit the local bodies ahead of civic elections. He had reportedly told the Local Self Government Minister A C Moideen that if the state government can convene a special session to pass a resolution against the Centre, it can explore the same route to pass the ordinance also.

The Governor had also openly criticised the resolution passed by the state assembly against CAA last month saying it was unconstitutional and had no legal validity. The assembly had passed a resolution on December 31 urging the Union government to withdraw the act immediately. Kerala is the first state to pass a resolution and first to move the apex court against the CAA. In the suit in the state government said the CAA violated the basic principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution.

Though the Chief Minister is yet to react, the CPI(M) has criticised the Governor. “The relationship between the state and the Centre is not that of a master and servant. It is based on the federal polity and Constitution. The Governor can’t be the sole agent of the Centre like this,” said Politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai.

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