CPI(M) V/S Governor: Brinda Karat Challenges Arif Khan To Contest 2024 Elections On Any Seat In Kerala Under BJP Ticket

Brinda Karat, a leader of the CPI(M), sharply criticised Kerala's governor, Arif Mohammed Khan, on Tuesday (2 January), amid his ongoing verbal spat with the state government over outstanding university bills. She suggested that he should run in the 2024 general elections representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Echoing her party's stance that the governor is meddling in the affairs of the Pinarayi Vijayan government at the BJP's behest, she proposed that Khan should formally join politics by participating in elections, Hindustan Times reported.

"If the Honourable governor is so interested in coming directly into politics, he should do so because the 2024 Lok Sabha election is scheduled to be held so it would be part of his political understanding," Karat was quoted as saying by ANI.

Brinda Karat suggested that if he wishes to gauge his political influence, he ought to participate in the elections.

"It might be more fitting for the Kerala Governor to actively participate in electoral politics, perhaps by running for any seat in Kerala under the BJP ticket," she suggested. "This would certainly separate the wheat from the chaff (Dudh ka dudh pani ka pani ho jayega)," she added.

Karat, who is part of the CPI(M)'s top decision-making entity, the Politburo, suggested that the governor should resolve his disagreements with the chief minister privately, rather than diminishing the dignity of his position through constant public declarations.

Governor Khan has been experiencing strained relations with the state government due to a multitude of problems, one of which includes not approving bills that have been passed by the Kerala Assembly.

He asserted on Saturday that the bills, being monetary in nature, could not be approved by the assembly without the governor's approval.

“The University bills are money bills; money bills cannot be introduced in the Assembly without prior assent of the Governor. They were money bills because if you remove the Governor and appoint individual chancellors, some expenditure will be incurred and then you need the Governor's assent but in order to short circuit that constitutional provision, what they did is they placed the responsibility on the universities,” Khan was quoted by ANI.

"The universities are not solely financed by independent sources, they also receive funding from both the state and central governments. When I sought clarification from the Kerala government, they were unable to provide it and instead appealed to the Supreme Court. Consequently, I referred the matter to the president," he further explained.

After the high court rejected its appeal for instructions to the governor against indefinite withholding of bill approval, the Kerala government approached the Supreme Court.

Recently, Khan launched a critique against the government in response to university students protesting against him.