If ordinance sent by state govt targets me, will refer it: Kerala Governor
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi, (PTI): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said that if the ordinance sent to Raj Bhavan by the CPI(M)-led government was intended to target him, then he will not sit in judgement over it and would refer the same to the President.
Khan, while speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Saturday evening, said he was yet to see the ordinance or go through it and would take a decision only after that.
"If I am the target, then I shall not be the judge in my own cause. I won't declare it now. I will see it and if I come to the conclusion that the purpose is to target me, then I shall not sit in judgement (over it). I shall refer (to the President)," he said.
State Minister for Local Self-Governments and Excise M B Rajesh, meanwhile, said that the government expects the Governor to act in accordance with the Constitution.
Rajesh, while speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, said that the state government exercised its powers under the Constitution when it came out with the ordinance and sent the same to the Governor.
"It is legal, constitutional and in accordance with the rules. We can now only expect that everyone will act in accordance with the Constitution," he said.
Khan reached Delhi on Saturday evening, a Raj Bhavan source said.
Earlier that day, the Left government in Kerala sent, to the Raj Bhavan, its ordinance to remove the Governor from the post of Chancellor of universities in the state.
The Kerala cabinet on November 9 had decided to come out with the ordinance amidst the Left government's ongoing tussle with Khan over functioning of universities, including appointment of Vice Chancellors, in the state.
The ordinance intends to appoint eminent academicians as Chancellors of the universities in the state in place of the Governor.
The decision of the Pinarayi Vijayan-headed government has been opposed by both the Congress and BJP as both parties have alleged that the move was aimed at turning universities in Kerala into "Communist centres".
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
