Kerala govt moved SC on CAA without my approval, says Guv

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Sunday said that State government's decision to move Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is 'illegal' as it does not have his approval.

"Before passing any order concerning the state and the centre, or other states, or moving to the High Court and Supreme Court, requires Chief Minister to submit it before Governor for his assent. If the order has not been submitted to the Governor, as in this case, then it is an illegal order and is in contravention to the law," Khan told reporters here.

"What is important is the Constitution and the law of the land. My only interest is that the Constitution and law must be upheld and business of the government must be transacted in accordance with the law. The transaction of business rules for the state government have been enacted under Article 166 (3) of the Constitution," he added.

After a resolution was passed in the State Assembly seeking withdrawal of the CAA, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led government has approached the apex court against the Act that grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The Kerala Governor had earlier said that the Citizenship law has to be implemented as there is no other option and the states have to implement it under Article 254.