Kerala governor signs ordinance to amend Lokayukta Act

Thiruvananthapuram, February 7 dmanewsdesk:  Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday gave his assent to the ordinance promulgated by the Left government in the state to curb the powers of the Lokayukta.

The Governor signed the ordinance a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had appraised Khan of the circumstances that led to an ordinance to amend the Lokayukta Act in the state.

Sources from the Governor’s office confirmed that Khan has signed the ordinance.

The opposition Congress has been urging the Governor to not sign the ordinance. saying the CPI(M)-led dispensation was trying to promulgate it at a time when complaints of several irregularities of the government were pending.

The meeting on Sunday was a first of its kind in recent times between the Chief Minister and the Governor after a row had erupted over the differences between the government and the Raj Bhavan on the alleged political interference in the functioning of the universities.

In December last year, the Governor wrote a letter to the Chief Minister urging the latter to remove him from the post of the Chancellor of universities, and take over.

The Chief Minister is also learnt to have briefed the Governor about his visit overseas. Vijayan went to the UAE last week after his two-week long medical treatment in the United States.

He returned to the state on Sunday.

Source: PTI