Speaker says no to Pinarayi’s submission on Governor’s ouster move against PSC
Kerala Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan blocked Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan from raising the Governor’s PSC recommendation, citing rules, while Chief Minister V D Satheesan denied any plans to slash PSC members' pay.
Kerala Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan blocked Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan from raising the Governor’s PSC recommendation, citing rules, while Chief Minister V D Satheesan denied any plans to slash PSC members' pay.
Kerala Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan blocked Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan from raising the Governor’s PSC recommendation, citing rules, while Chief Minister V D Satheesan denied any plans to slash PSC members' pay.
Thiruvananthapuram: Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishan prevented Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan from raising the matter of the recommendation given by the Governor to the President seeking the removal of the PSC Chairman and members as a submission in the Assembly.
The Speaker pointed out that it was a violation of rules to raise matters related to the Governor and President as a submission. When the Speaker suggested that the matter could be presented in another form later, Pinarayi ignored him and tried to continue his speech. However, Chief Minister V D Satheesan intervened and said that if the Opposition Leader raises the matter in the House, the Speaker should allow the government to present its reply. The Chief Minister added that the government has a clear position on the matter.
Pinarayi said that the matter had to be presented in the House as certain Constitutional issues were involved. In a democratic setup, any Governor should function only with the approval of the Cabinet, he pointed out. The Speaker’s decision preventing the raising of such an issue did not benefit democracy, Pinarayi added.
Urging Pinarayi to desist from raising the matter as a submission, the Speaker said that he would personally hold a discussion with the Opposition Leader. Pinarayi replied that he accepted the Speaker’s suggestion and sought a discussion at the earliest date.
No move to slash PSC members’ strength, pay: CM
The Chief Minister said that there was no move on the part of the government to reduce either the number or pay and other emoluments of the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) members. Satheesan also informed the House that a situation where legislation to prevent persons engaged in full-time political activity from becoming PSC members does not exist.
“The State Police Chief has received a total of 180 complaints regarding alleged malpractices in the PSC. Follow-up measures on these complaints will be taken after receiving the report of the ongoing Crime Branch investigation into the evaluation of various exams and interviews conducted by PSC,” said the Chief Minister.