The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday, August 10, decided to convene a session of the state Assembly later this month. The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan decided to recommend to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to convene the Assembly from August 22, a CMO release said. The Assembly will be in session for 10 days, official sources said. Though the government did not cite any particular reason for convening the session, apparently, it is meant to enact legislations on several ordinances which stand lapsed for want of the Governor's approval by August 8.
Among the ordinances that expired on August 8, the Kerala Lokayukta (Amendment) Ordinance was one which says the Governor, Chief Minister or the state government would be the competent authority and he or it may either accept or reject the declaration by the Lokayukta, after giving an opportunity of being heard. The Congress-led UDF opposition was against the ordinance and had in February urged the Governor not to sign it.
Sources said Assembly Speaker MB Rajesh cancelled his official Canada visit to participate in a conference of the Commonwealth nations in the wake of the decision to convene the state Assembly. Rajesh was scheduled to visit Canada from August 21 to 26, they added.
The ruling LDF had said it was not going to adopt a confrontational or adversarial approach over the ordinances getting lapsed as the Governor refused to sign them. LDF convenor EP Jayarajan told reporters that the Left front government was not going to take a confrontational or adversarial approach. "That is not how the LDF government works. The government works by keeping the interests of the public at the forefront. Therefore, we will take steps after resolving the issues through dialogues and discussions," he said.
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