‘We are not rubber stamps’: TN governor RN Ravi backs Kerala guv’s move to not sign bill

Chennai, November 17: Tamil Nadu’s RN Ravi stated that governors are not rubber stamps and that it was their duty to ensure that bodies like the Lok Ayukta are not diluted. He further backed Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s move not to sign a bill that removes the state Lokayukta’s power to dismiss elected representatives.

 

 

RN Ravi said that there is a reason for the Kerala governor refusing to sign a bill. “It is the duty of the constitutional offices, including that of the governor to ensure that a body like Lokayukta should not fail,” said RN Ravi.

 

 

 

This comes at a time when the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu has accused RN Ravi of not assenting to several bills meant for the public good. The Kerala government is also at loggerheads with their governor, Arif Mohammad Khan.

Earlier in October, DMK MP TR Baalu invited MPs of allied parties to sign a memorandum seeking the removal of RN Ravi from the TN governor post. The memorandum, which has already been sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, is awaiting President Draupadi Murmu’s nod. 

 

Meanwhile, in November, the Kerala government removed Governor Arif Mohammad Khan as the chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam deemed-to-be-university through an amendment.

 

Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala have been engaged in a tussle over the functioning of state-run universities and the appointment of vice-chancellors.

 

Earlier, Arif Mohammad Khan had issued show-cause notices to vice-chancellors of 11 universities, asking why they should be allowed to continue since their appointments were illegal as per a recent Supreme Court ruling.

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