Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] appeared poised to battle each other over a politically contentious petition seeking the Presidential imposition of a financial emergency in the State under Article 360(1) of the Constitution.
Mr. Khan hit a raw nerve by forwarding the plea authored by social activist R.S. Sasikumar to the government for comments. Mr. Sasikumar had sought the President’s intervention to “save Kerala from irredeemable financial instability precipitated by the State government’s reckless borrowing, lax tax administration, and unpardonable profligacy”.
Mr. Khan confirmed he had sought a report from the government on the State’s fiscal health. “Let the report come,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
