Supreme Court is sacred cow: Governor

KOCHI: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that he would not respond to the Supreme Court's reference against withholding of bills. He told the media that the Supreme Court is a sacred cow and that he will not comment on court observations.

'The Supreme Court has not mentioned about the matters in Kerala. Everyone is bound to follow the Supreme Court directive. The rule is that the approval of the Governor should be obtained in advance to introduce the Finance Bill in the Legislative Assembly. The government cannot trash the Constitution. I am not interested in breaking the law. Are you saying that I have to cooperate with the government's violations of the law? I will not give in to pressure."

Earlier in Delhi, the governor said citing the government's action of filing a case for not signing the bills that he has not created a constitutional crisis in the state. 'The state government raised baseless allegations in the Supreme Court. CPM's political allegation is that the state is belittled. Is there evidence to support the allegations? There is no point in simply making a statement. A crisis occurs when the powers given by the Constitution are exceeded. Can you at least show me an example where I crossed that line? There are many examples of state governments overstepping their bounds. The government violated the constitution by passing the bill in the assembly against the citizenship bill which was not within its jurisdiction

Government should stop extravagance

The governor said that the government, which spends crores on grand celebrations and building swimming pools, has no money to pay pensions and salaries, and the financial crisis in the state has also affected the Raj Bhavan.

Government should stop its extravagance. Pension for those who have been personal staff of ministers for two years or less should be stopped. Those who have worked all their life are the ones who should get a pension. Kalamandalam Vice-Chancellor could not be paid his salary. The governor also asked to save the universities from government interference.