Farmers Movement Archive

Kerala guv denies nod for special House session against farm laws

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan has refused permission to the state government to convene a special assembly session on Wednesday to pass a resolution against the three contentious farm laws enacted by the Centre. The cabinet had on Monday recommended to the governor to convene the special session. It is reliably learnt that the governor has cited that he was not convinced about the urgency for convening a special session for one hour when clearance has already been given for a session from January 8 next year, for which only 15 more days are left. The governor had given clearance for the session from January 8 prior to the latest recommendation from the cabinet. Apparently the government could not provide a convincing reason for its change of mind. The governor is empowered to summon the House as and when he thinks fit, according to Article 174 of the Constitution. Now with the governor giving a thumbs-down, the one-day session planned by the government cannot be held on Wednesday. It is not clear if the government will push for a session on another day. Meanwhile, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala termed the governor’s decision unfortunate and undemocratic. He urged law and parliamentary affairs minister AK Balan to convene a meeting of MLAs in the assembly lounge and pass a resolution against the farm laws. The assembly was expected to pass a near-unanimous resolution during the special session with both LDF and UDF opposed to the farm laws. Kerala had passed a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 earlier by convening a special one-day session, becoming the first state to do so. Lone BJP member O Rajagopal had then asked the Speaker to not take up the resolution against a law passed by Parliament.

The Times of India

2020-12-23

India