The Kerala government has taken the ordinance route to defer six days’ salaries for its employees a day after the high court stayed its original deferment order saying it lacked legal backing.

Kerala has decided to defer six days’ salaries a month for five months to tide itself over the financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Those earning less than Rs 20,000 a month are exempted.

“Under this ordinance, the state government has the right to defer up to 25 per cent of the salaries of government servants and workers of government-aided institutions in an emergency like this one,” Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac said after the state cabinet promulgated the ordinance on Wednesday.

He emphasised this was not a salary cut, for the deducted amount would later be paid back.

“This ordinance is not for deducting workers’ salaries, which is what some states and the Centre have done. The Centre has slashed allowances for the next two years; they will not return these,” he said.

“Under this ordinance, the state government will have to return whatever amount has been deducted.”

The Congress, its allies and the BJP have all along opposed the partial pay deferment. Hearing a bunch of petitions, Kerala High Court had on Tuesday put a two-month interim stay on the state government’s initial April 23 order announcing the salary deferment.

On Wednesday, the Opposition slammed the ordinance and asked why the state government had not appealed against the high court order.

State Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said the ordinance was “a challenge to the high court”.

P.K. Kunhalikutty, national general secretary of Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League, called the ordinance “a questionable act” and said: “Why couldn’t they appeal against the high court order?”

Isaac, however, said the government’s decision was based on the high court order.

“We are not challenging the court order; we are accepting it. We are just doing what the court asked us to,” he said.

“The court had observed that the government’s (original) decision was not based on law. Now we have made it legal.”

Isaac castigated the Opposition for nitpicking about one issue after another during a crisis. While Kerala’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak has earned international applause, a combined state Opposition has been attacking several of the government’s pandemic-related decisions, such as the acquisition of a smart tool to organise health data.

“They have still not understood what kind of situation the state is facing. Or are they under the impression that this would end tomorrow or the day after?” the finance minister said.

Isaac specifically targeted Congress veteran Ramesh Chennithala: “The leader of the Opposition has not understood this at all.”

He underlined that the cash-strapped government would have to borrow money to pay this month’s salaries.

“We will have to borrow Rs 1,000 crore to pay salaries,” Isaac said.