Governor Arif Mohammed Khan
| Photo Credit: PTI
The draft ordinance to remove the Governor as Chancellor of the State universities has become infructuous with the Cabinet decision to recommend to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to summon the State Assembly.
The government’s intention to divest the Governor of his powers as Chancellor has been made clear through the decision to convene the State Assembly. The next Cabinet meeting may deliberate on the Bills that are to be considered during the nine-day Assembly session, which is to begin on December 5, sources indicated.
Incidentally, the Cabinet had last week submitted the draft ordinance to the Governor for replacing him with noted academicians as Chancellors. Mr. Khan, who is on a tour and slated to return to the State capital on November 20, had indicated that he may refer the ordinance to the President as it was intended to curtail the powers of the Governor.
However, in a deft move, the Cabinet decided on summoning the session without providing him an opportunity to decide on the fate of the ordinance.
The Governor is left with the option of returning the ordinance to the government noting that no emergent situation warranting the consideration of the ordinance exists since the Cabinet decision on Assembly session, legal experts say.
Taking note of the Cabinet decision, the Governor shall summon the House as prescribed in Article 174 of the Constitution, experts say.
The stand-off between Mr. Khan and the State government has led to several unprecedented legal and constitutional challenges in the State. The faultline in the relationship between the two had widened considerably over the past few months.
The Raj Bhavan march organised by the Education Protection Council on Tuesday against the Governor’s “trespasses” on the jurisdictional autonomy of State universities and Mr. Khan’s public posture that none shall try to pressure him is the latest in the public spat between the two.
