In an unprecedented move, Leader of Opposition and the top leader of Congress party in Kerala, Ramesh Chennithala, on Saturday moved the state Assembly seeking permission to introduce a resolution to ‘call back’ Governor Arif Mohammed Khan.
Ramesh Chennithala served a notice to Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan under rule 130 (Discussion on a matter of public interest) of the Rules of Procedures of the state Assembly. Reportedly, it is the first time such a permission to introduce a resolution to call back the Governor is sought by a member in Kerala Assembly.
The move comes in the backdrop of controversies following the recent passage of a resolution in the Kerala state assembly against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had come out publicly criticising the state Assembly for this move. Ever since, leaders in the state, from both the ruling and opposition front, have come out against the Governor’s stand saying that his criticisms have political overtones.
Chennithala also stated that the rule 284 (v) (Rules to be observed while speaking - reflect upon the conduct of persons in high authority unless the discussion is based on a substantive motion drawn in proper terms) is also invoked in the notice given to the Speaker.
Chennithala stated that the Governor had crossed and violated all the democratic morals by humiliating and ‘publicly questioning’ the honour of the state Assembly.
“Have given a notice to the Speaker under rule 130 seeking permission to introduce a resolution in the assembly calling on the President to recall the Kerala Governor who has transgressed all limits of probity and violated precedence by questioning the act of the Legislature,” Ramesh Chennithala said in his tweet.
In a Facebook post, Ramesh Chennithala also said, “When the assembly passed the resolution against CAA on December 31, 2019, even the one BJP member in the Assembly did not vote opposing this. But then the Governor came out publicly stating that such a resolution does not have any Constitutional or lawful validity.”
Terming this as "highly improper", Chennithala said by adopting such a stand he has questioned the pride of the state Assembly and undermined its special power and rights.
“The state Assembly has the right to say opinion on any law which the Centre passes. The representatives of the Assembly are elected by the people of the state, and any decision taken here reflects the opinion of the people,” said Chennithala.
He also said that if at all the Governor was dissatisfied, he should have conveyed this to the Assembly in writing.
Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said that he was functioning as per the Constitution.
"Most welcome," the Governor said when asked about the opposition move against him. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I am the Constitutional head of the state. It's my duty to advise, counsel, encourage and warn the government. It's part of my duty as per the Constitution and as interpreted by the Supreme Court also," he told the media.
Meanwhile, members of the ruling Left front have not yet reacted to Congress’s sudden move against the Governor.
Though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had himself recurrently called out to the Opposition to come join hands for a joint protest against CAA, it remains to be seen how the CPI(M) and the ruling front will react to Congress’s move, which could possibly give a political upper hand to the Congress in the anti-CAA movement in the state.