Spirit, intention of legislature must be protected: Arif Khan

Thiruvananthapuram: Legislative Assemblies represent people's will; therefore, the spirit of the legislation and the intention of legislature need to be protected, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said on Monday, reports PTI.

In his policy address in Kerala Legislative Assembly, at the start of its budget session, Khan said, "My Government is committed to the constitutional value that the intention of the legislature should take effect as law."

The Governor issues such a comment when the state government waits for his approval of bills that aim to remove him from the duties as Chancellor of state universities.

Governor said that there is legislative space for the Union and the States, which is provided by the Constitution. So, States' invasions into legislative domains do not support the cooperative federal setup.

He said, "Checks and balances in the system have to be scrupulously observed for the healthy functioning of our democratic polity. Legislative Assemblies represent the will of the people."

"The spirit of the legislation and the intention of the legislature has to be protected," he said.

According to him, his government is committed to protecting constitutional values, which is facing many challenges.

Khan said, "Hegemonic tendencies in religious, linguistic and other arenas hamper the building of a robust democracy, which respects diversity for strengthening its unity."

He argued that special efforts must be brought into defending democracy, secularism, plural values and federalism, the important foundations of national unity. A strong nation has to have a strong Centre, empowered States and actively functioning local governments.

He said that recent restrictions on the borrowing capacities of the state are hampering their ability to intervene in the health, education and infrastructure sectors.

"For the body politic of the nation to be strong, it needs strong limbs. States have heavy responsibilities in the social sectors, and their fiscal position has to be strong.

"Recent measures to curtail the borrowing limits of the States constrain the scope of their interventions in the health, education and infrastructural sectors," the Governor said.

Khan said while fiscal discipline has to be enforced in right earnest, "there cannot be different yardsticks for state governments, which are not made applicable to the Union Government".

Freedom of the press was a "cardinal" feature of a strong democracy, and free and fair media activities have to be protected, which is another issue he spoke about in the policy address. Khan said there had been instances of freedom of the press being curtailed in different ways in some parts of the country, and his government was always committed to protecting the independence of the media.

He also emphasised that there was a remote perception that agencies empowered to investigate matters regarding compliance with laws are acting in a manner which deviates from the professionalism expected from them.