Thiruvananthapuram: Marking the latest chapter in its tussle with the Raj Bhavan, the Kerala government Wednesday introduced a module on the power and duties of a governor in the Class 10 Social Science textbook.
The four-page section appears in the second part of the Social Science textbook under the chapter Democracy: An Indian Experience. The chapter details how the governor is not an elected authority and a “nominal figure,” and that power lies in the state’s Council of Ministers.
The move comes two months after state Education Minister V. Sivankutty announced that revisions would be made to the curriculum to include material on the governor’s powers.
Sivankutty made the announcement after he walked out of the Scouts and Guides Rajyapuraskar award ceremony held in Raj Bhavan in June over the display of an image of ‘Bharat Mata’.
“An image representing a political party was displayed here. It is inappropriate to pay tribute to that image. I strongly condemn this,” said Sivankutty after the event.
Kerala has been witnessing a prolonged tussle between the state government and Governor Rajendra Arlekar. The tensions, however, predate Arlekar. His predecessor Arif Mohammed Khan locked horns with the government over assent to Bills passed by the assembly, university appointments, as well as criticism of each other in public.
The tussle deepened after Raj Bhavan displayed a portrait of Bharat Mata in official events. The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and opposition UDF have alleged that Arlekar and Khan were trying to turn it into a RSS office. “It’s a chapter that everyone who upholds democracy should read,” Sivankutty told the media Wednesday, while informing that textbooks with the revised curriculum have been printed.
Sivankutty also read out important subjects covered in the module.
“The governor’s role becomes a matter of controversy when different parties are ruling in the state and Centre, and it’s often considered an intervention of the Centre in state government works. The Sarkaria Commission, established in 1983 to study Centre-state relations, had recommended against appointing politicians as governors,” the minister read from the chapter. Before their stint in the Raj Bhavan, both Arlekar and Khan were associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The newly added chapter mentions that retired Army officials, civil servants, or politicians are usually appointed as governors.
According to the module, the governor can only do three things on the bills passed by the legislative assembly: sign it, send it back, or send it to the President. It adds that the governor should sign it if the returned bill is passed for the second time by the assembly.
The Sarkaria Commission had recommended reforms in the appointment of governors, and more financial powers to states to make them impartial and to strengthen federalism. It also suggested that the governor, a person from outside the state, should be appointed after consulting the chief minister of the state. It also recommended against an active politician or a politician from the ruling party serving as governor in states governed by the Opposition.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
