Kerala Governor not discharging constitutional duties regarding bills, hence moved SC: LDF govt
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Thursday said it moved the Supreme Court against the action of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for not signing certain bills passed by the state legislature as he was not discharging his constitutional duties.
State Law Minister P Rajeev said that the state legislature passed bills after considerable deliberations and in accordance with the rules and therefore, to withhold them indefinitely was "unconstitutional and anti-democratic".
"As soon as a bill is passed, the Governor has to act in accordance with the provisions of Article 200 of the Constitution," he said, adding that the provision has not been followed by Khan in respect of some bills.
The bills to which Khan has withheld assent include the Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill and two different University Laws Amendment Bills.
Speaking to reporters here, Rajeev said that even the Supreme Court has observed that bills passed by the legislature should not be withheld indefinitely and a decision should be taken on them "as soon as maybe".
The Governor, however, has withheld assent to some bills for nearly two years now, he said.
The minister said that the Governor could have sent the bills back to the assembly pointing out his concerns and the assembly would have decided whether to make amendments to them or pass them again without any modifications.
"Since the Governor is not discharging his constitutional duties with regard to the bills passed by the legislature, the government decided to move the Supreme Court against it," the minister said.
At the same time, the minister also said that it was not government-Governor row.
He said that the plea in the Supreme Court concerns the constitutional relationship between the state legislature and the Governor.
Khan, on several occasions in the past, has contended that he has withheld assent to some bills as his queries regarding those pieces of legislation were yet to be addressed by the ruling Left government.
He had claimed that as the respective ministers who proposed the bills were unable to address his queries, he had asked Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to clarify the doubts.
As no clarification came from the CM, the bills remained unsigned, Khan had said.
He had claimed that it was the Constitutional duty of the chief minister to brief him on a regular basis.
On this aspect, Rajeev said that the CM was only required to inform the Governor about the state cabinet's proposals for legislation and not the laws.
If the Governor wanted to send it to the President, it could have been done by now as some bills are awaiting assent for nearly two years, the minister said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
