Farmers Movement Archive

Kerala special assembly session: CPM, UDF lash out at governor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Both CPM and UDF have come down heavily against governor for rejecting the demand of state government to convene a special session of the assembly to pass a resolution against the farm bill brought out by Centre. “The governor by denying the request of the state government has set a wrong precedence. The act is not suitable for a governor who holds the highest constitutional power. The governor should have acted as per the constitutional provisions,’’ said CPM state secretary A Vijayaraghavan. The state government does not function by informing the governor what all the state government is going to do in the assembly, he said. The agenda of the assembly is decided by the government and the business and advisory committee of the assembly. The governor has no role in it, He has to just give the consent for the state government to convene the session as per the constitutional provisions, said the CPM state secretary. The UDF MLAs met at the chamber of the opposition leader in the assembly and condemned the action of the governor. The UDF had asked the chief minister to convene the meeting of all the MLAs at the members’ lounge inside the assembly and protest against the farm bill. “The government was not ready for this. It was unfortunate. The government is feared of going against the Centre for dubious reasons,’’ said former chief minister Oommen Chandy after the meeting of the parliamentary party. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala urged the state government to come out with a legislation to overcome the farm bill of the Centre. He said the bill should be discussed in the ensuing assembly session. He also urged the government to pass the resolution against the farm bill on the first day of the assembly session which will begin on January 8. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran termed the act of the governor as undemocratic. “The governor is protecting the interests of the BJP government at the Centre. But he forgets the fact that he holds a constitutional power and he should not mix politics with his power,’’ said Ramachandran.

The Times of India

2020-12-24

Thiruvananthapuram