Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday said that he needs to go through the papers related to Saji Cheriyan’s re-induction into the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Speaking to media persons here, Governor Khan said that he has not seen any papers related to the re-induction of Saji Cheriyan into the Cabinet. “I have not made up my mind. I have not seen any papers,” he said.
The Governor said that Saji Cheriyan’s re-induction is not a normal case, as he had resigned over the allegations that he had lowered the dignity of the Constitution.
“Under normal circumstances, it is essential for the Governor to accept the recommendation of the Chief Minister. But this is not a normal case,” said the Governor.
Khan said: “I have not seen any papers. So, I will first look at the background. If there was a case registered against him, at what level he was exonerated. I will have to see all that.”
It has been reported that the Governor has received legal opinion stating that he cannot reject the name of a minister suggested by the Chief Minister.
According to the legal advice received by the Raj Bhavan, it is the constitutional responsibility of the Governor to swear-in the person nominated by the Chief Minister.
However, the legal advice also states that the Governor can ask for clarification from the Chief Minister in Saji Cheriyan’s case.
The CPI-M state secretariat which met on Friday has given the nod to re-induct Saji Cheriyan into the Cabinet, almost six months after he resigned following an uproar over his alleged anti-Constitutional remark.
Saji Cheriyan had stepped down as the Minister for Fisheries, Culture and Youth Affairs on 6 July after his remarks against the Constitution during an event in Mallappally sparked a row.
A three-minute video clip of Cheriyan addressing a CPI-M event at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta had gone viral. The video purportedly showed him saying that “India has a beautifully written Constitution. But I would say that the Constitution is written to rob the people.”
“Though there are traces of a few good things such as democracy and secularism in the Constitution, it aims to exploit the common man,” the video showed him as saying.