Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan accuses Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of shirking his Constitutional duty to brief the head of State

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan accuses Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of shirking duty to brief him; Govt petitions SC against Khan's refusal to assent to 8 Bills passed by Assembly; Khan objects to Bill to remove him as Chancellor of State universities & Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill; CM says Khan's refusal harkens back to colonial days.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan fired the latest salvo in Raj Bhavan’s protracted legal and political battle with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government by accusing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of shirking his Constitutional duty of briefing the head of the State.

Interacting with journalists on October 2, Mr. Khan said Mr. Vijayan “does not come to Raj Bhavan.” Instead, the government despatches Cabinet Ministers and officials. “It is the Constitutional duty of the Chief Minister to keep me informed regularly,” said Mr. Khan.

Last Wednesday, the government upped the ante in the increasingly rancorous and public conflict with Raj Bhavan by petitioning the Supreme Court against Mr. Khan’s “stonewalling” of the legislative process by “inordinately” withholding assent to Bills passed by the Kerala Assembly.

Mr. Khan’s “refusal” to give assent to eight Bills passed by the Assembly in 2022 has long been a serious bone of contention between Raj Bhavan and the LDF government.

For one, the Bill to remove the Governor as the Chancellor of State universities appeared too close to the bone for Raj Bhavan’s liking.

Mr. Khan had earlier accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] of subverting varsity administration to post-party loyalists and posting next of kin of CPI(M) leaders in critical positions.

He had also leaned on a Supreme Court decision to deem that Vice-Chancellor appointments in Kerala violated the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.