THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as he welcomed the “exercising of democratic rights” by LDF workers who staged a massive protest outside the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan asserted that “pressure tactics” would not deter him from discharging his duty.
“My duty is to uphold the law of the land and the Constitution. No amount of threats or ill talk or pressure tactics can deter me from upholding them,” he told reporters in Delhi. Khan said he hasn’t seen the Ordinance that aims to strip the governor of the chancellor’s powers before he left for Delhi. He added that he will not be able to comment further on the matter without “applying his mind” on it.
Asked about the Bills pending his assent, the governor said he had sought certain clarifications from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about them, but received no response from him. “They do not explain about a two-months-old Bill, they do not come to the Raj Bhavan, because they know what they are doing is not in accordance with law,” Khan said.
Later, in Delhi, the governor made light of the LDF protest, saying only around 25,000 people participated in it and that the rest were in support of his interventions in the higher education sector.
“Kerala has a population of more than three crore people. So they are in support of it. Some hope has been revived that universities can be saved, “ Khan said.