On Friday, the Kerala government appeared keen on steering clear of a legal confrontation with Governor Arif Muhammad Khan over his assent to convoke a special session of the Assembly on December 31 to discuss the national-level farmers’ agitation and its implications for the State’s food security.
Law Minister A. K. Balan and Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar called in at the Raj Bhavan with a Christmas cake. They spent over an hour closeted with Mr. Khan.
The government’s proposal to club the issue of food security with a discussion on the contentious agriculture reforms laws that have pushed the farmers on the warpath against the Central government had emerged as a subject of disagreement between the Raj Bhavan and the administration. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Mr. Khan had expressed starkly different views on the subject.
Stepping out of the meeting, the Ministers expressed confidence that Mr. Khan would give his assent. They avoided any mention of the suggestion to introduce a resolution in the Assembly against the farm laws. They said they would convey Mr. Khan’s views to Mr Vijayan.
A Raj Bhavan official pointed out that Mr. Khan had not objected to the summoning of the Assembly. He had merely sought further clarification of the purported exigency that compelled an impromptu session of the Assembly on December 31 without the minimum 15-period notice.
Mr. Khan had turned down a similar request on December 21 because he felt the Assembly lacked the “jurisdiction to offer a solution” to the farmers’ strike. He had also expressed scepticism whether the Assembly could discuss the constitutional validity of laws enacted by Parliament. Mr. Khan had aired a similar sentiment when the Assembly passed a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December, 2019.
Mr. Vijayan, in turn, felt the Governor had no power to arbitrate in subjects considered by the Assembly. Mr. Khan was constitutionally bound to summon the Assembly on the advice of the Cabinet. The Governor had no choice in the matter.
The government and Congress-led Opposition were on the same page in their opposition to Mr. Khan. Both coalitions termed his “refusal” to summon the House unconstitutional. The BJP cheered Mr. Khan for “upholding federalism.”
