Thiruvananthapuram, 27 Oct (H.S.): Keralam Assembly Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan disallowed a submission by Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan on the Governor’s recommendation to the President seeking the removal of the Public Service Commission chairman and members, citing procedural restrictions.

The ruling prompted objections from Vijayan, who argued that the recommendation raised constitutional questions requiring discussion in the House. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said the government had a clear position and should be allowed to respond if the Opposition Leader raised the issue.

The Speaker maintained that matters concerning the Governor and the President could not be raised through a submission under Assembly rules. He suggested that Vijayan present the issue later through an appropriate procedure.

Vijayan initially sought to continue, contending that a Governor in a democratic system should act only with the Cabinet’s approval. Preventing discussion of such a matter did not serve democracy, he said.

The Speaker urged him against pursuing the submission and offered to discuss the matter personally. Vijayan accepted the suggestion but requested that the discussion take place at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Satheesan told the House that the government had no proposal to reduce the number of Kerala PSC members or cut their salaries and other emoluments.

He also said there was no situation warranting legislation to prevent people engaged in full-time political activity from becoming members of the commission.

Addressing allegations of irregularities, the Chief Minister said the State Police Chief had received 180 complaints concerning alleged malpractices in the PSC.

Further action on these complaints would follow receipt of the report of the ongoing Crime Branch investigation into the evaluation of various examinations and interviews conducted by the commission, he said.

The exchange ended with Vijayan agreeing to the Speaker’s offer of a discussion, while the government linked further action on the complaints to the Crime Branch’s findings.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman