Kerala govt may move Supreme Court against Governor
A state government official privy to developments said Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s intervention had affected the functioning of many universities and his delay in signing key bills had created an administrative vacuum in the state.
The Kerala government may move the Supreme Court in its latest salvo against Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that consultations with legal and constitutional experts were already underway.
A state government official privy to developments said Governor Khan’s intervention had affected the functioning of many universities and his delay in signing key bills had created an administrative vacuum in the state.
It was not immediately clear what issues the government would be taking up in its plea to the top court.
The uneasy relations between Khan and the government spiralled downwards in August this year after the governor refused to sign 11 ordinances brought by the government. The government, headed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, later called a special session of the assembly to pass them. Though Khan later signed a majority of the bills, he withheld his consent to two of them — one aiming to curtail powers of the Lokayukta and another to curtail the governor’s powers as the chancellor of universities.
The official mentioned above told HT on Saturday that the government is also planning to contact other Opposition-ruled states which have been at odds with respective governors, said the official mentioned above.
Since August, leaders of the state government have often hit out at Khan alleging that he was trying to bring in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s ideology into the state’s education sector, a charge which he has asked them to prove.
A senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state, said: “We are planning to take the issue to the national level.”
On Saturday, government records that were leaked among reporters showed that the government had spent ₹46.90 lakh so far to consult with constitutional and legal experts.
HT had reported earlier that the government is also planning a protest outside the Raj Bhavan on November 15.
On the other hand, Governor Khan has kept up his attack against the government. In mid-October, he wrote to President Droupadi Murmu alleging that he had not been given any official information about Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s overseas trip earlier that month. In the letter, Khan added that he also had no information on who was tasked with managing the government during Vijayan’s absence.
Last week, he also raised serious allegations against the CM saying his office was patronising smuggling activities in the state. He also quoted excerpts from a book written by Swapna Suresh, one of the main accused in the high profile smuggling case. Suresh had raised several allegations against Vijayan and his family members in the book, released in October.