Kochi, Dec 26 (PTI) Kerala's ruling CPI(M) on Saturday expressed hope that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan will give his assent to the state government's proposal to convene a special assembly session on December 31 to discuss and pass a resolution against the three contentious central agricultural laws.

"We hope that the Governor would give his official assent, granting his permission for convening the special session of the state assembly," CPI(M) politburo member M A Baby said. The senior CPI(M) leader said following the cabinet decision to convene a brief assembly session, two ministers had met Khan at Rajbhavan. "The ministers have explained to the governor under what circumstances the special session of the state Assembly is being requested", Baby told PTI.

His statement comes a day after Law Minister A K Balan and Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar held discussions with Khan to discuss the government's fresh proposal to convene the special session of the Assembly on December 31.

The senior CPI(M) leader, however, slammed the governor for turning down the LDF government's earlier proposal for a brief assembly session on December 23, alleging that he was acting on the directive of the Centre. "The earlier decision of the governor was against the norms of the Constitution. It is naturally suspected that the governor might not have taken this decision on his own," Baby said.

Baby said he sees the influence of "some extraneous factors" including a directive from the Centre and the RSS in "creating a crisis in the Left-ruled state. The CPI(M) leader alleged that "directives from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur" influenced the decisions ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi, who is an RSS pracharak.

The governor had declined nod on ground that the government did not address the question raised by him on the nature of emergency warranting the very brief session and pointing to the regular session slated to commence from January 8.

The state cabinet which met on Thursday again decided to recommend Khan seeking approval for a special assembly session on December 31 over the farm laws with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying his government was "hopeful" that the governor would accord sanction.

Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar, who met the Governor on Friday, said Khan was "convinced" about the state government's decision on convening the assembly on December 31. "It was just a communication between the government and the governor. He is convinced about the views expressed by the government", Kumar told reporters about the meeting here. Kumar opined that the issue between the governor and the government could be settled only through constitutional means.

"The matter could be resolved only through Constitutional provisions. So we discussed the matter with the governor. It was a very positive discussion", he said.

Meanwhile, expressing solidarity with farmers agitation in Delhi, Pineapple Farmers Association based in Vazhakulam in the Ernakulam district sent nearly 20 tons of pineapple.

Kumar flagged off the truck in the presence of Muvattupuzha MLA Eldo Abraham.

The minister said he salutes the Pineapple Farmers Association on behalf of the state government for sending this truckload of pineapple to the farmers in the national capital.

The truck is expected to reach Delhi on Tuesday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)