Kerala Opposition Leader Wants Governor Recalled Over CAA
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Targeting Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over the CAA issue, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday said he will move a resolution in the Kerala Assembly, seeking his recall for “violating” all democratic principles and “publicly questioning” the pride of the legislature.
He said he will introduce a resolution asking President Ram Nath Kovind to recall Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The senior Congress leader said he has given a notice to Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan seeking his permission to move the resolution in the Assembly under the rule 130 of the legislative business.
He accused the Governor of publicly challenging the unanimous resolution passed by the state Assembly against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 enacted by the Parliament during its winter session. “Even the single member of the BJP in the Kerala Assembly did not cast his vote against the resolution passed by the Assembly against the CAA
The resolution, according to the Opposition leader, comes after Mr Khan’s repeated criticism of the Assembly’s resolution against the citizenship law – a resolution he has described as “unconstitutional and illegal”.
“If the Governor had an issue with the resolution that was passed in the Assembly, he should have informed the Speaker. Publicly questioning the legislature’s rights or ridiculing the Assembly cannot be justified,” Mr Chennithala told reporters in Kochi.
This is the first time such a notice has been given to the Kerala Speaker. Mr Khan was sharp in his dismissal of the notice, declaring it did not “deserve comment”.”I don’t think this kind of thing deserves any comment. Before opening my mouth, I read the Constitution and (study the) law to be aware of role and duties conferred upon me,” he was quoted by news agency ANI.
In an earlier response to the increasing tension between Mr Khan and the Kerala Assembly, a tweet from the Governor’s official account referred to rule 119(d) of the Rules and Procedure of the Kerala Assembly, which he said “clearly states the Assembly shall not discuss any matter which is not the concern of the State Government”.
Last week Kerala became the first state to move the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA. The decision opened another front in the war with the Governor, who hit back by demanding a report and said it was “improper” of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s government to approach the top court without informing him.
The court heard the petition, and more than a hundred others like it, earlier this week but refused to order a stay on the citizenship law without hearing the centre’s response. Moved by the Chief Minister, the resolution was supported by politicians across the spectrum, with the exception of the lone BJP MLA in the Assembly – O Rajagopal. The Governor had slammed the resolution as unconstitutional and insignificant.
Critics also fear the CAA, along with the proposed NRC (national register of citizens) and NPR (national population register) exercises, will further discriminate against Muslims.
Kerala has already put on hold all administrative activities relating to the NPR and NRC. The state has joined several non-BJP governments in refusing to carry out NRC in an attempt to stave off the enforcement of the citizenship law.
(With Inputs from Agencies).
