NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday reiterated its stand and opposed Kerala government’s plea to withdraw its petition against the Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly.Senior advocate and former Attorney General (AG) of India, K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought to withdraw the plea from the top court by saying that the issue had become infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case on April 8.This was vehemently opposed by the Centre through its top law officer, the AG of India, R. Venkataramani, and Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, as they urged the court to await the Apex Court’s decision on the reference of the President under Article 143 of the Constitution over the grant of assent to bills.”Kerala government’s petition could also be referred to be tagged along with the presidential reference,” Mehta argued before the apex court.Venugopal continued to plead before the top court, questioning how his plea could be opposed. Finding no rationale in the Centre’s arguments, he submitted, “Why my lords are hesitant for the state to withdraw the petition?”The former top law officer said that the issues raised in this case will be further dealt with by the Supreme Court when hearing the 14 questions raised in the Presidential Reference on the assent of state bills by a Governor and the President under Articles 200 and 201 of the Constitution.
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