Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday gave his assent to an ordinance amending the state Goods and Services Tax (GST) law with regard to gambling, people familiar with the matter said.

The 50th GST Council meeting had fixed 28% GST on gambling at casinos, horse racing and online gambling stipulating that the tax will be levied on the face value of the bet. The amendment to the GST Act was later notified by the central government following which the Kerala government promulgated the Ordinance bringing changes to the state GST law.

The governor’s assent to the Ordinance comes in the backdrop of the frosty relations between the CPM-led LDF government and the Raj Bhavan over various issues, including university appointments and allegations of party-sponsored protests.

However, in an indication of a possible thaw in the ties between the two highest offices of the state, governor Khan said Friday that there was “no rift” between him and chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Speaking to reporters briefly in Thiruvananthapuram, the governor said, “There is absolutely no rift. I am doing my legal duty, my statutory duty”.

At the same time, he rejected reports of the Raj Bhavan not getting an invite to the Christmas feast hosted by the chief minister. “Invitation is there in the Raj Bhavan, go and see it. Why should I explain (why I didn’t go?) It’s for you to find out. You ask me questions but you don’t ask questions there. That is your problem,” he said.

Governor Khan also hit out at CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat who had suggested to him to fight the 2024 elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. He shot back, “Has she ever fought any election? I would like to treat those comments with the contempt that they deserve.”