Kottayam: The Kerala government on Saturday said it has responded comprehensively to the queries raised by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan concerning the latest amendments to the Kerala Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill passed by the state assembly recently.

State Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan claimed that the uncertainties surrounding the bill have now been clarified. "The governor is expected to endorse the bill soon," he told reporters here. 

The minister further said the state Assembly passed the bill with the objective of bringing a comprehensive revamp in the cooperative sector.

The Kerala Assembly passed the bill last month to ensure more security to the deposits in the wake of the multi-core Karuvannur bank scam which hit the state cooperative sector recently. The bill was later sent to the Governor for his assent. In the wake of complaints he received with regard to various aspects of the amendment including the team audit and term limit, Governor Khan had sought explanation from the Cooperative Department. 

Two weeks ago Khan during a media interaction said that bills sent to his official residence Raj Bhavan are pending due to a lack of clarity on various matters. Khan then maintained that neither the chief minister nor the ministers sent by him were able to give clarifications for the queries asked. "They are not in a position to clarify, then whom I should address the question? I need certain clarifications," he told media persons.

The new development comes at this juncture. 

Among the eight bills awaiting the Governor's approval, the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, aimed at replacing the Governor with eminent academicians as chancellors of state universities, was passed by the Kerala legislative assembly after extensive deliberations several months ago.

These bills were submitted for the Governor's approval under Article 200 of the Constitution. Despite visits from the ministers concerned to Raj Bhavan for briefings, the Governor has not yet signed the bills.
 

With PTI inputs