Charges and counter-charges involving Khan and Vijayan have landed Kerala in an unprecedented political crisis.
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former assembly speaker P Sreeramakrishnan. (KB Jayachandran/South First)
With the public spat between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan taking an ugly turn, two crucial bills recently passed by the state Assembly find themselves in limbo.
In recent media interactions targeting Vijayan, the Governor has given sufficient hints that he would not endorse any bill that infringes on the autonomy of universities in the state. Clearly, he has no plans to sign off on the University Laws (Amendment) Act of 2022.
The government amended the Act in the Assembly with the sole motive of clipping the wings of Khan, who used his powers as Chancellor of universities to target what he called nepotism in appointments by the ruling LDF, especially its largest constituent, the CPI(M).
The act primarily curbs the Governor’s, and hence the Union government’s, role in the selection and appointment of vice-chancellors of the state’s universities.
Adding to the worries of the government and state leadership of the CPI(M), the Governor has also raised objections to the Kerala Lokayukta (Amendment) Act, 2022, saying the amendments seemed violative of the cardinal principle of natural justice.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. (South First)
The Kerala Lokayukta Act of 1999, passed by the then CPI(M) government led by EK Nayanar, mandated that any public servant — be it the chief minister or ministers or MLAs — must vacate their office in the event of an adverse Lokayukta judgement finding them guilty of corruption.
That law said the Lokayuktha report was binding on the government and the competent authority — the Governor, in case the accused is the chief minister — has to accept the verdict and submit an action-taken report to the anti-corruption body within three months.
As per the amended Act, the Lokayukta can now only make a recommendation to the competent authority, who can then accept or reject it. What has infuriated Khan is that he is no longer the competent authority for the chief minister.
It is the Legislative Assembly that will be the competent authority if the chief minister is the accused.
For Cabinet ministers, the competent authority is the chief minister, and for MLAs, it is the Assembly Speaker.
Khan has said the law violated the cardinal principle of natural justice.
“No one should be a judge in their case. Even if the government persuades me to sign, the judiciary will strike it down. The Constitution has not set any time limit for giving gubernatorial assent to any legislation. Everything will be decided on merit,” he said.
“The government cannot be given powers to appoint vice-chancellors. Any such move must be viewed as executive interference. The state government is attempting to denigrate the Governor’s office. I will not take any action that would derail natural justice and basic constitutional rights,” Khan said in an interaction with the media in Kochi on Saturday, 17 September.
When contacted by South First, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan claimed the government had acted on the two bills within the provisions of the Constitution and the law of the land.
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister in the state Assembly. (KB Jayachandran/South First)
“We hope the Governor too will act within the Constitution and law frameworks. We foresee no reason for the Governor to refuse endorsement of the two bills. The government and the party are not concerned about the future of the bills. And we are facing no crisis,” he said.
The Governor, who was away from the state capital for over two weeks, will be back in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, and observers feel there would be more verbal spats between him and the ruling dispensation.
On Saturday, the Governor earned the CPI(M)’s wrath by visiting RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the residence of an RSS leader in Thrissur in central Kerala. CPI(M) leaders are wondering why the Governor travelled to Thrissur to meet the RSS chief at a private individual’s house.
The party reminded the Governor that he can accept any person as a guest in the Raj Bhavan, and what he did was a clear violation of protocol to appease his “political masters”.
In the meantime, Khan intensified his criticism of Vijayan by saying he had forsaken the chief minister’s duty to brief the Governor on crucial matters concerning the state.
According to him, Vijayan rarely responds to calls or replies to letters. He also went to the extent of accusing the government of intimidating the Governor and making him fear for his physical safety.
What piqued media interest is the Governor’s threat that he would reveal more about his entire interactions with Vijayan on crucial matters once he returns to the Raj Bhavan.
According to opposition leader VD Satheesan, if the Governor refuses to sign the two amended laws, it would have far-reaching political, legal and constitutional ramifications.
Terming the whole dispute as a drama, Satheesan wondered how long the two sides would continue their tirades over issues ranging from overstepping of constitutional bounds to trespassing on the jurisdiction of the elected government.
“I know that mediators are now active to find a truce between the two sides. The Opposition is not a party to the fight, which has taken an ugly turn now. Our request to the Governor is to not sign the two bills as they are violative of natural justice,” he told South First.
The Governor’s allegation that the Home Department under Vijayan has prevented the state police from booking those who alleged “attempted to murder him” at the Indian History Congress hosted by the Kannur University in 2019 also complicates the situation.
The CPI(M), the university and the police deny any attempt was made to murder Khan, and that there was only a heated exchange of words when the Governor used the occasion to justify the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.
According to Khan, octogenarian historian Irfan Habeeb, who was present on the dais, attempted to physically assault him with the connivance of University vice-chancellor Gopinath Raveendran. Its an allegation many present at the event have rubbished.
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