Prof. Neelam Mahajan Singh
The latest in series of skirmishes of Kerala Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan and Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, has brought to fore, the hidden hand of RSS in Governor’s office. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has launched yet another frontal attack at chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying the latter’s “deliberate actions precipitate the breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state”.
The salvo came in reaction to the SFI’s move to put up black posters and banners outside Calicut University guest house, where Governor Khan stayed. He also called the Kerala State police as ‘shameless’. He said the Student’s Federation of India (SFI), a student wing of the CPM, was running the universities. “Shameless people. SFI is running the university.
They will put the banners outside a guest house and you (police) will have them there?” the Governor asked? Governor Arif Mohammed Khan returned to the guest house after the police pulled down the banner. Dr. Shashi Tharoor got an opportunity to say, ” these fellows are agents of lawlessness”. Governor Khan has sought an explanation from the Vice Chancellor of Calicut University over ‘hoodlumism by SFI’! CPI-M and SFI feel that at the behest of Narendra Modi Government, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, through Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is ‘trying to saffronise the universities by appointment of Sanghis; instead of appointments on merit and experience’. Kerala’s Minister for Tourism, P.A. Mohammed Riyas, said the CPM was not telling Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to “shut his bloody mouth because they respect his constitutional position”.
Riyas was responding to Governor Khan’s controversial remark on the ‘bloody history of Kannur’, which is the home district of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Riyas’ reaction came during the ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ at Konni in Pathanamthitta district. ‘Like monkeys, they will fall back if you cease to flee’, Governor Khan mocked at SFI. On the other hand SFI has vowed to intensify their protest against Kerala Governor. CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Governor was provoking SFI protesters with his insensible and abusive remarks. Riyas took a step further by attempting to school the Governor on the history of Kannur.
In the land of Kannur, many have been martyred while fighting the colonial forces. Kannur played a vital role in the country’s freedom struggle. “Why does Arif Mohammed Khan have so much grudge toward Kannur and Kerala?” Riyas asked in his stirring speech. Pinarayi’s role in communal harmony, led the communists of Thalassery and Kannur districts to resist RSS’s attempts to sow seeds of communal hatred in the 1970s. When there was an attempt to attack a mosque, comrade U.K. Kunhiraman, a local committee member of Mangattidam, along with other communists, stood guard to protect the mosque. RSS attacked him by saying he was a ‘Mappila child’.
A young man who sat in front of the jeep then; is the chief minister of Kerala today. The ongoing tug of war between the Kerala government and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has become a hotly debated issue in the Supreme Court of India. The Kerala government’s petition is heard by a three-judge bench comprising; Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra. On one hand there is the issue of privileges and on the other hand there are constitutional rights of the governor. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has said, “If the Kerala government is acting outside its jurisdiction, then what is the solution?”
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, has approved one Bill and sent seven of them to the President of India. Kerala government alleged that the Governor behaved like an ‘opponent’ by keeping eight major bills pending for two years. Justice D. Y. Chandrachud said that neither any reason nor justification was given by the Governor for keeping the bills pending for such an “extraordinary, long period”. It also did not escape the court’s notice that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had taken the action after issuing a notice to the Raj Bhavan on November 20 on the petition filed. “What was the Governor doing on these bills for two years? The power of the Governor cannot be used to frustrate the normal process of democratic law making by the legislature,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan, said, “Bills which are politically motivated should not be linked with public interest”! Attorney General R. Venkataramani said there were “both political and non-political aspects to what happened, which I don’t want to get into”. Senior advocate K. K. Venugopal, representing the Kerala Governor, said that no constitutional authority can exercise power arbitrarily. “Please take firm action otherwise people will be harmed. Governors cannot be given ‘carte-a-blanche’. Under Article 168, the Governor is a part of the State Legislature,” the Chief Justice said.
Venkataramani said, “It was easier to present each bill as a people-friendly bill”; and the Governor should have given reasons to the House for sending the seven bills to the President. The Governor must state whether the Bills violate Article 254 (incompatibility between Central and State laws) or whether the Bills are included in the Union List. By the way, can a Governor blindly send the bills to the President? Besides, there is a Money Bill, which was passed two months ago and is pending with him for his assent. The Supreme Court is set to lay down guidelines on when the Governor can send bills to the President; For how long can they refuse to give approval and for what period should they give consent under Article 200. This is also necessary.
It said that eight bills are pending from 2022. Venugopal said that three of the seven bills – University Laws Amendment Bill (First Amendment) Bill No. 50 of 2021, University Laws Amendment Bill (First Amendment) Bill No. 54 of 2021 and University Laws Amendment Bill 2022 – have been sent to the President by the Governor. “Let us hope that there will be some political foresight in the state. If this happens then there will be no need to create guidelines. We leave the decision of finding a way out to the wisdom of both the Governor and the Chief Minister. Otherwise, we are here to lay down guidelines,” Chief Justice Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud said.
A fresh debate has erupted on ‘constitutional sovereignty of governor’. In retrospect the Supreme Court of India has said, “the Constitution of India is supreme and the court has the right to interpret its provisions. Parliamentary privileges are subject to the fundamental rights of citizens”. Earlier the Supreme Court had set guidelines to prevent misuse of Article 356 of the Constitution; in which orders were given to test the majority received by the Council of Ministers on the floor of the House. S. R. Bomai decision has become a milestone. Dr. John Brittas, Rajya Sabha MP, of CPM said, “Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is erudite scholar, but he should not thrust RSS agenda in Kerala. Pinarayi Vijayan government has full mandate of the people of the State, and we are working for social, economic and political empowerment of the people of Kerala.”
It will be imperative on the part of the Supreme Court of India to give an order, like the S.R. Bommai judgement, which has laid the ground rule for proving the majority on the floor of the house. This will also become a milestone in the constitutional rights of the ‘Governor versus Chief Minister’ and on the bills passed in the assemblies elected by the people. Public interest should be paramount in democracy. The Order of Supreme Court of India, in Govt. of Punjab versus the Governor, has laid down a few directions for clearing the bills passed by the assembly. It would be pertinent to say, that each party has a student wing, who indulges in regular demonstrations. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is also a product of student’s movement and Jai Prakash Narayan Movement. A certain restraining on use of decent language ought to be practiced in public life. While there are contagious issues of governance, yet propriety would be appreciated. The Governor and Chief Ministers have to collectively ensure the welfare of the people of the state.
(Writer is Sr. Journalist, Author, Doordarshan Personality, Solicitor for Human Rights Protection, Constitutional Expert and Philanthropist)
