Federalism | Governors vs chief ministers

Tussles with the governments of Kerala and different states reignite previous debates over the governor’s function in India’s federal construction

New Delhi,ISSUE DATE: Nov 14, 2022 | UPDATED: Nov 4, 2022 20:49 IST

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan (black waistcoat) with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (in white); (Photo: ANI)

It’s a second of deja vu for Kerala. Way again in 1959, the state authorities, then led by CPI (and later CPI(M)) stalwart E.M.S. Namboodiripad, was at loggerheads with Governor B.R. Rao over, amongst a number of different issues, an training invoice that aimed to introduce sure reforms within the non-public training sector. The governor was unwilling to present his assent to the contentious invoice, which had confronted resistance from a number of organisations and stress teams. The tussle finally led to the dismissal of the Namboodiripad authorities and imposition of President’s rule within the state. More than six a long time later, the southern state has been witnessing the same tussle between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities led by Pinarayi Vijayan and the present occupant of the Raj Bhavan—Arif Mohammad Khan. The bone of competition this time, too, is the training sector, extra particularly the appointment of vice-chancellors within the 13 universities run by the Kerala authorities.

Edited By:

Aditya Mohan Wig

Published On:

Nov 4, 2022