Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan fired the latest salvo in Raj Bhavan’s protracted legal and political battle with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government by accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of shirking his Constitutional duty of briefing the head of the State.
Interacting with journalists on October 2, Mr. Khan said Mr. Vijayan “does not come to Raj Bhavan.” Instead, the government despatches Cabinet Ministers and officials. “It is the Constitutional duty of the Chief Minister to keep me informed regularly,” said Mr. Khan.
Last Wednesday, the government upped the ante in the increasingly rancorous and public conflict with Raj Bhavan by petitioning the Supreme Court against Mr. Khan’s “stonewalling” of the legislative process by “inordinately” withholding assent to Bills passed by the Kerala Assembly.
Mr. Khan’s “refusal” to give assent to eight Bills passed by the Assembly in 2022 has long been a serious bone of contention between Raj Bhavan and the LDF government.
For one, the Bill to remove the Governor as the Chancellor of State universities appeared too close to the bone for Raj Bhavan’s liking.
Mr. Khan had earlier accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of subverting varsity administration to post-party loyalists and posting next of kin of CPI(M) leaders in critical positions.
He had also leaned on a Supreme Court decision to deem that Vice-Chancellor appointments in Kerala violated the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.
Mr. Khan objected to the Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill that accords the government power to accept or reject the watchdog’s findings in nepotism, corruption and maladministration cases.
Mr. Khan has maintained that the amendment sought to appoint the executive as a judge “in its own cause.”
At a post-Cabinet press conference last Wednesday, Mr. Vijayan had said that Mr. Khan’s “brazen defiance of the people’s will harked back to the colonial days when provincial governors had sweeping discretionary powers.”
He said the Bills, vital to governance, were pending before the Governor for the past one-and-a-half years.
“Surprisingly, the Public Health Bill has no controversial provision that warrants a gubernatorial dissent,” Mr. Vijayan said. He accused Mr. Khan of holding up the appointment of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairperson.
Mr. Vijayan said Ministers and officials visited Mr. Khan at Raj Bhavan and explained the government’s position on the proposed laws to no avail.
Mr. Khan denied Mr. Vijayan’s claim. “The government has not answered my queries. It says the Bills are pending approval. The administration cannot expect me to sign Bills unthinkingly. We are a rule-of-law society,” Mr. Khan said.
