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The tussle between the Kerala Governor and CM Pinarayi Vijayan-led state government has widened as the Kerala government filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for not signing the bills passed by the Assembly.
Reacting to the move, the Governor said that "if anybody has confusion in their mind and they go to the Supreme Court, then it should be welcomed; the confusion will be removed". The Kerala government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for alleged inaction on the part of eight bills passed by the state legislature and presented to Governor for his assent under Article 200 of the Constitution. As per the petition, three bills have been pending before the Governor for more than two years. "The conduct of the governor as would presently be demonstrated threatens to defeat and subvert the very fundamentals and basic foundations of our constitution, including the rule of law and democratic good governance, apart from defeating the rights of the people of the state to the welfare measures sought to be implemented through the Bills", the petition read. The Pending Bills include the University Laws Amendment Bill (1st amendment) 2021 Bill No. 50, University Laws Amendment Bill (1st amendment) 2021 Bill No. 54, University Laws Amendment Bill (2nd amendment) 2021, the Kerala Co-operative Societies Amendment Bill 2022, University Laws Amendment Bill 2022, Kerala Lokayukta Amendment Bill 2022, University Laws Amendment Bill 2022 and Public Health Bill 2021. Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan cited the Constitution, saying that "the Governor cannot unnecessarily delay the bills sent to him after the Assembly passes them." Following this, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan raised concerns that CM Vijayan does not regularly provide updates on government activities, which he says is the constitutional duty of the Chief Minister. (ANI)
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