Kerala Assembly's business advisory committee rejected on Friday the notice given by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala to move a resolution in the Assembly seeking the recall of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. A defiant Chennithala said he would demand that the motion be discussed in the BAC once more.
The Opposition leader said this was yet another proof of the LDF government's secret understanding with the Governor and said this exposed the LDF's double-standards in their approach towards the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Chennithala said the government had even questioned the Speaker's wisdom while rejecting his notice to move a resolution against the Governor. "The law minister (A K Balan) had strongly opposed any discussion on the motion in the Assembly. The first reason he trotted out was that the Speaker had not admitted our motion under section 130 (of the Assembly Rules of Procedure)," Chennithala said.
This is patently false, the Opposition leader said. "Right at the outset, the Speaker had taken a very clear stand. The moment he received my motion he had said it was legally admissible. When I requested that it should be published as a 'no day yet named' motion under section 135, he agreed to do so," he added.
After this, the Opposition leader said the Speaker had only two things to do. "He should either consult with the leader of the house (the Chief Minister) or put the motion for the consideration of the BAC and fix the time for moving the motion in the Assembly," Chennithala said. The matter was put before the BAC in which the Chief Minister is also a member. "The BAC was convened to allot the appropriate time for the motion. It was during this discussion to fix the suitable time that the law minister questioned the Speaker. We told him right away that the Speaker's stand was faultless and that it could not be questioned," Chennithala said.
Another reason given by law minister A K Balan for turning down the notice was lack of precedent. "Kerala Assembly itself had passed resolutions against the Governor. Before that, in 1969, when E M S Namboodirippad was the Chief Minister, the Assembly had passed a resolution against the West Bengal Governor for omitting certain passages from the customary policy address," Chennithala said.
Here is what the EMS resolution said: "The situation arising out of non-fulfilment of the constitutional obligation on the part of the West Bengal Governor by his refusal to read certain passages of his opening speech prepared by the cabinet in so far as it endangers the future of the cabinet system of the government in the country."
In 1995, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had moved a resolution during J Jayalalitha's time to recall the then Governor Channa Readdy. In Kerala, Chennithala said a resolution moved by CPM member O Bharathan during E K Nayanar's tenure against the actions of the then Governor Ram Dulari Sinha in her capacity as Chancellor was discussed and displeasure noted. "The then Speaker Varkala Radhakarishan said the Assembly can pass a resolution seeking the recall of a governor," Chennithala said.
The Opposition leader said the weirdest reason put forward by Balan to dump his notice was that it would greatly enhance the Governor's stature. "I didn't understand this part. Protests are raging in Kerala against the Governor's stand on the CAA. If we could not bring this rage to the Assembly where else can we take this? Where else should we discuss this? The Assembly should reflect the anger of the people of Kerala," Chennithala said.
Then, giving a rhetorical spin to his disappointment, Chennithala said: "The government says there is no precedent. But we are here to create precedents. We could have forced the Centre to change its dirty game of using governors to harass non-BJP state governments."
The government had also told the Opposition that there was not enough time to take up the motion. "We said we were ready to sit for an afternoon session," Chennithala said. The Opposition also said they would sit for an extra day for a discussion on the resolution.
"They should have actually welcomed the motion. It would have been a lesson for other governors who would unnecessarily cross the line. Kerala Assembly, like in many other instances, could have been a model for the rest of the country," Chennithala said.