Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan | Photo: Sabu Scaria/ Mathrubhumi
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is yet to sign 11 ordinances, including the controversial Lok Ayukta Act amendment, which will expire on Monday. The ordinance will become legally void if the governor fails to sign them on time. The stand taken by the governor had already placed the state government in a tough spot.
The Kerala government is putting a lot of pressure on the governor to sign the ordinances. However, the governor, who went to Delhi on Friday, will return only on July 11th. The state government contacted the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the governor, but to no avail.
Earlier, the Governor and state government clashed concerning the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor at Kerala University. To overcome this, the government is trying to bring an ordinance to curtail the governor's powers in the VC appointment. This move infuriated the governor Arif Mohammad Khan, who decided to appoint a committee to bypass the government for the appointment. The situation is similar to when the Governor refused to sign the policy declaration speech back in January.
The government will issue an ordinance for legislation in emergency situations. These should be introduced as a bill in the next session of the Kerala Assembly and passed. If the government fails to pass the bill, the ordinance will only have a lifespan of 42 days from the start of the assembly. The cabinet meeting on July 27 decided to renew 11 ordinances that were not passed as bills during the last assembly session. These ordinances were sent to Raj Bhavan for approval from the Governor.
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