Governor Arif Mohammad Khan opened a second front in his dispute with State government by stating on Friday that he suspected the Ordinance that sought to increase the number of elected offices in local self-government institutions (LSGIs) by amending the Kerala Panchayati Raj and Kerala Municipality Acts was ‘for some extraneous purpose.’
Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Mr. Khan said two Ministers had met him to discuss the Ordinance. “I shared my doubts with them. Their responsibility was to clear them. Instead, they chose to go to press first,” he said.
He said he needed to be satisfied that the government did not use the ‘power of the Ordinance for extraneous purposes.’ The government has now decided to introduce the amendment as a Bill in the budget session of the Assembly.
Mr. Khan had not consented to the Ordinance, which Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala had termed as ‘suspiciously timed and violative of the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.’ The Ordinance seeks to add at least one more ward to each local body.
