Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan on Friday said that an elected government could not throw the Constitution into the dustbin. They have to work according to the provisions of the Constitution, he said .
Speaking to media persons in Kochi, Governor Khan said that the elected governments do not have the right to throw the Constitution into the dustbin; they do not have the right to violate the provisions of the Constitution.
Responding to queries related to the Supreme Court criticism against Governors who are withholding assent to the bills passed by the state legislatures, Governor Khan said that he is not making any comment on the observations made by the apex court. He said that all are bound to follow the directions issued by the Supreme Court.
Calling the Supreme Court a “holy cow,” Governor Khan said that the Supreme Court has not said anything about Kerala on Friday. He said that he has not created a constitutional crisis in the state and added that the rule is that the permission of the Governor should be taken before introducing the Finance Bill in the Assembly.
However, the state government has not followed this Constitutional provision, he said and asked whether he would be a party for the law violations of the state government.
Earlier on Friday morning, the Governor came down heavily on the state government for its extravaganza while the state is reeling under severe financial crisis.
He said that the government is spending crores of rupees to organize big celebrations and build swimming pools in ministerial buildings while social security pensions to the poor are not being paid.
The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on the Punjab Governor for withholding assent to the bills passed by the state legislature. The top court said that the Governor of Punjab is “playing with fire” by deflecting the course of Bills passed by a duly elected Assembly.
“We are governed by a parliamentary form of government where the government is accountable to the legislature.The Governor is a titular head of the state,” the apex court said.