Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday rejected CPI-M Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat’s statement urging him to contest Lok Sabha election from Kerala on BJP ticket.
Speaking to media persons here, Arif Mohammed Khan said he is dismissing Brinda Karat’s advice to him to contest Lok Sabha election from Kerala on BJP ticke, with disdain.“I am dismissing Brinda Karat’s advice with disdain,” he said and asked “Has she contested in any election so far?”
Brinda Karat the other day slammed the governor, saying that he was interfering in the activities of the Kerala government on the instructions of the BJP.
Governor Khan said he chose not to go to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Christmas feast despite being invited. “If you visit the Raj Bhavan, you can check the invitation. You may investigate why I declined the invitation as well. You should also pose such questions to the Chief Minister,” he said
The Christmas and New Year party hosted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was held in Mascot hotel here on Tuesday. Initial reports suggested that the chief minister did not invite Khan to the feast due to a standoff between the left government and the governor.
Meanwhile, in the ongoing tussle with the left government, the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan signed an ordinance on Friday that amends the state’s GST law regarding gambling.
Following a decision at the 50th Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meeting to impose a 28 percent GST on gambling at casinos, horse racing, and online gaming, as well as to impose the tax on the face value of the bet, the state government issued the necessary law.