THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM is exploring the possibility of divesting Governor Arif Mohammed Khan of the chancellorship of universities in the state. The party state secretariat on Friday decided to look into the legal and practical aspects of the move. The two-day state committee, commencing Saturday, is likely to take a final call on the issue.
The party plans to first bring in an ordinance removing Khan as Chancellor. If the governor refuses to give assent, the government will convene a special assembly session to pass a legislation to this effect, CPM sources said.
Both the CPM and CPI have already indicated that the government, if required, will explore such a possibility. CPM state secretary M V Govindan had recently made it clear that the Left will explore all legal, constitutional and political options in resisting the governor.
The party secretariat also decided not to further escalate the controversy on the PSU retirement age issue. The chief minister explained how the order was issued and the cabinet later decided to freeze it as it was not party policy. CPM is of the view that with the government freezing the decision, the issue has come to an end, the sources said.
The CPM feels that with the party itself correcting the government, it could successfully check the Opposition’s move to cash in on the issue. “The government order regarding PSUs deals with various matters. Unifying the retirement age was just one aspect of the order. The party was aware of the order in general, but there was some sort of miscommunication on this one aspect. Hence the chief minister directed to freeze the order immediately,” they said.
CPM NOD FOR CULTURAL POLICY DOCUMENT
The CPM secretariat cleared party’s cultural policy document that would look into the kind of interventions required in the cultural sector. At a time when both the Sangh Parivar and minority extremist outfits have been trying to make inroads into the state’s cultural sphere, the party needs to play a more pro-active role, observed the CPM. The party state conference held in Ernakulam last March had discussed the need for cultural interventions in the state. Political resistance should be backed by socio-cultural interventions too, the party had observed. It’s in this backdrop that the secretariat gave its nod for cultural policy document.
Revised GOvt order on retirement age out
T’Puram: A revised government order on the retirement age in Public Sector Undertakings does not indicate a complete withdrawal from the move to enhance retirement age. It reads: Steps based on the clause “retirement age of employees in Kerala PSUs” in the earlier order should be stopped. Separate orders will be issued after a detailed study on the existing situation of each PSU.” The order was issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Bishwanath Sinha.