Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday hinted that the Raj Bhavan would strongly rebut the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s accusation that he had failed to exercise his constitutional powers and duties by withholding gubernatorial assent to Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly.
When pointed out by reporters that the government had approached the Supreme Court seeking a favourable declaration against the Raj Bhavan in the politically contentious matter, Mr. Khan said the court plea would accord him a legal opportunity to bring in more clarity to the dispute.
Lok Ayukta Bill
Mr. Khan is yet to sign at least eight Bills passed by the Assembly into law. He had publicly opposed a Bill that purportedly defanged the Kerala Lok Ayukta and accorded the political executive unbridled appellate powers to review the ombudsman’s findings. “The government could not be a judge in its own cause,” Mr. Khan had said.
Mr. Khan had also withheld gubernatorial assent for a law seeking to remove the Governor as Chancellor of State universities. Earlier, he had railed against the government for allegedly transforming universities into party domains controlled by party apparatchiks and their favourites who had scarce regard for University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.
‘Political act’
In its petition, the government pointed out that Mr. Khan had given his assent to the Kerala Private Forest (Vesting and Assignment) Bill, 2023, in April. However, he refused to give assent to other Bills passed earlier. The government leaned on the contention to argue that Mr. Khan’s refusal to give consent to other Bills was a political act.
In the petition, the government accused Mr. Khan of subverting the Constitution and defying the privilege of the Legislative Assembly to pass and amend laws.
Mr. Khan also used the interaction to raise public concern about the State’s finances. He pointed out the administration appeared hard-pressed to even pay pensions to retired State employees.
