New Delhi: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has hinted at referring the Ordinance seeking to remove him as Chancellor of state universities to the President for a decision.

“If the State Government is targeting me, then I don’t want to judge it (Ordinance). A decision will be made only after scrutinizing the ordinance, which I’m yet to receive personally. Welcome the decision of the state government if it wishes to proceed legally,” Khan told reporters.

Amid the ongoing tiff between the Left Democratic Front Government and the Governor, the Cabinet vetted a proposal to strip him of the Chancellor’s post and replace him with competent experts. The ordinance in this regard was handed over to the Governor’s office at Raj Bhavan on Saturday.

The Raj Bhavan received the executive order by 11 am on Saturday, shortly after Khan had left for Kochi on his way to New Delhi. He will return only on November 20. Usually, an ordinance passed by the Cabinet will reach the Raj Bhavan on the next day itself. However, this time over, the order was handed over to the Governor’s office three days after its approval.

Govt to move Bill
The government indicated that it would introduce the Ordinance as a Bill early next month when the Cabinet convenes a special session, no matter what the Governor decides. However, a legal issue has arisen as to how the government can introduce the Bill in the assembly when the Ordinance is before the consideration of the President. The legal department is learned to have told the government that such a scenario is arising for the first time in the state.

The government thinks the state legislature is competent to proceed with the measure. If it can pass the Bill while the ordinance is before the Governor for consideration, it can do so while the same is before the President’s scrutiny, sources said.

However, even if the LDF government bypasses the Governor and the President to introduce the Bill in the assembly, it still requires the Governor's assent to make it a law. This is the challenge before the Cabinet.

The tussle between the Governor and the government reached its peak when the former demanded the resignation of 14 Vice Chancellors of state universities on the grounds that their appointment was in violation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.