If minister speaks against constitutional authority, it's natural for Guv to ask to maintain dignity: MoS Muraleedharan
Oct 17, 2022
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 17 : Minister of State V Muraleedharan on Monday said that if a minister speaks against constitutional authority then it is natural for Governor to ask to maintain dignity.
"Kerala Governor is warning state ministers about what they speak and upholding the dignity of their office. If a min speaks against constitutional authority, then it is natural for the governor to ask to maintain dignity," V Muraleedharan said.
The minister's remark came after a war of words broke out between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the ruling LDF in Kerala against the latter's remarks warning ministers against lowering the dignity of his office.
In a tweet, Khan warned that strict action would follow if state cabinet ministers and CM issued statements that lower the dignity of the office of the Governor.
"The CM and Council of Ministers have every right to advise Governor. But statements of individual ministers that lower the dignity of the office of the Governor, can invite action including withdrawal of pleasure," the tweet by Kerala's Raj Bhavan read.
After the statement, the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued a statement criticising the remark and termed it 'anti-constitutional'.
"The Governor of Kerala, Arif Mohammad Khan, has been acting in a manner which does not behove the Constitutional post that he holds. This amounts to saying that the Governor can dismiss a minister by withdrawing his pleasure. Such dictatorial powers are not vested with the Governor by the Constitution. By making such a statement, Shri Khan has only exposed his political bias and hostility to the LDF government," the Polit Bureau said in a statement.
"The President of India should intervene to prevent the Kerala Governor from making such anti-Constitutional and anti-democratic statements," it further said.
