THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, in his policy address, criticized the Centre for 'curtailing' the borrowing limit of states and various 'incursions' into the legislative domain of states in the Assembly on Monday.
Khan's policy address, which also listed out numerous achievements of the state in various sectors, marked the commencement of the eighth session of the 15th legislative assembly.
Though the Opposition MLAs made no attempts to disrupt the policy address, they lodged their protest on the alleged collusion between the LDF government and the Governor. Raising slogans such as 'Governor- government bhai bhai' before the policy address began, most of the Opposition MLAs sat through the address holding placards in protest.
Khan said the fiscal position of the states needs to be strong taking into account their responsibility in the social sector. "Recent measures to curtail the borrowing limit of states constrain their scope for interventions in health, education and infrastructure domains," the Governor said. He also added that while fiscal discipline has to be enforced in right earnest, there cannot be different yardsticks for state governments and the Centre.
.jpeg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
"Our constitution has provided legislative space for the Union and the states. Incursions into legislative domains of the state do not augur well for a cooperative federal set-up," Khan said. The Governor reminded us that checks and balances in the system have to be scrupulously observed for the healthy functioning of a democratic polity.
Stressing that legislative assemblies represent the will of the people, the Governor said the spirit and the intention of the legislature have to be protected. "My government is committed to the constitutional value that the intention of the legislature should take effect as law," Khan said. This portion in the policy address is seen as a criticism of the Governor himself who has withheld assent for a couple of key legislations enacted by the Assembly recently.
The Governor's policy address also stressed that the state government has not abandoned its ambitious Silverline semi-high-speed rail project. Khan said the government was committed to ensuring a faster and cleaner mode of transport for the people of the state.
"Silverline would be a fast, safe and convenient mode of transport. The Detailed Project Report has been approved by the state and has been submitted to the Railway Ministry for approval," Khan said.