Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday responded to LDF government's anti-CAA advertisements in the front page of national dailies in harsh words.
Spending public money for political campaigning was "thoroughly undesirable", he said.
The state sponsored advertisement, published on Friday, claimed that "the state was leading the efforts to protect constitutional values" and its assembly was the first to pass an unanimous resolution against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Khan, who was in Delhi, told television channels that spending public money for a political campaign was "thoroughly undesirable."
"..public money is being used to campaign against a law which has been passed by Parliament. Sounds bit strange to me..," Khan said.
The governor said it would not have been a problem if the advertisement was given by a political party.
The Kerala government had published in three national dailies that the state had taken "bold initiatives to address the apprehensions of the public" and had stayed the National Population Register drive that could lead to the NRC (National Register of Citizens).
The state, which also leads in the Human Development index, is ranked first among states in poverty eradication, health standards, education, gender equality and realising novel ideas, the advertisement claimed.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government had on August 7, 2017, published an advertisement in the national capital that the state had one of the lowest crime rates in the country, to counter a campaign by the BJP and the RSS against the CPI (M) in Kerala over political killings.
Khan had earlier come under severe criticism in Kerala's political circles for his open support of CAA. He was boycotted at the Indian History of Congress, Kannur by many students for his pro-CAA stance.
The Governor's latest remark suggests that the widening rift between the government and the governor has no signs of thawing.
(With inputs from PTI.)
