Kerala Governor withholds assent to medical colleges bill

Thiruvanathapuram: Kerala Governor P Sathasivam today withheld assent to the Kerala Professional Colleges (Regularisation of Admission in Medical colleges) Bill 2018.

The Governor withheld assent to the Bill under the provisions of Article 200 of the Constitution, Raj Bhavan sources said.

The Governor also took into consideration the observations of the Supreme Court recently while ordering a stay on the Kerala Professional Colleges (Regularisaton of Admission in Medical Colleges) Ordinance 2017, the sources said.

Article 200 empowers a Governor to either give or withold assent to a bill or reserve it for the consideration of the President.

The bill which was adopted in the assembly on April 4 this year, seeks to regularize admissions made in two medical colleges in 2016-17.

The ruling CPI-M led LDF and Congress headed UDF opposition had supported the Bill when it was adopted in the assembly.

The House had passed the Bill for regularising admission of students of the private Karuna Medical College, Palakkad and Kannur Medical College in Kannur.

The issue of two medical colleges came into focus recently after the Supreme Court stayed the ordinance promulgated by the CPI-M led LDF government.

The legislation to regularise admission of 150 students of the Kannur Medical College and 30 students of Karuna Medical College was passed to replace the ordinance.

However the Admission Supervisory Committee cancelled them, holding that these two colleges had violated norms during admission.

The government brought forward the legislation to overcome the situation holding that the students should not be victimized.

Earlier in the day, a BJP delegation led by senior leader O Rajagopal, MLA, requested the Governor not to give assent to the bill.

CWC member and former Union Minister A K Antony had criticsed the government and Opposition for passing the bill, and stated that alternative steps should have been taken to help the affected students and their parents.

Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala had stated that they supported the bill, considering the future of the students.

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