Kerala governor writes to President against CM Vijayan’s foreign visits
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan alleged that he was unaware of the arrangements made to run the government while Vijayan was on the 10-day trip, said one of the people mentioned above, asking not to be named.
Amid his growing rift with the state government, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has written to President Droupadi Murmu alleging that he was not informed of a 10-day foreign trip taken by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the first week of October, people close to the Raj Bhavan said.
It is customary for the chief minister to brief the Governor ahead of a foreign trip and then call on the head of the state upon return.
The Governor has further alleged that he was unaware of the arrangements made to run the government while Vijayan was on the 10-day trip, said one of the people mentioned above, asking not to be named.
Vijayan had travelled to Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom along with a contingent during the October trip and had stayed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a few days before returning to the country.
The CM’s office said Khan was informed about the trip when he visited Kannur to pay his respects to deceased Marxist leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on October 3.
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After his visit, the CM had held a press conference in the state capital on October 18 saying “it was a successful trip” aimed at boosting investment and cooperation with European countries.
The governor wrote to President Murmu in the second week of October saying that he came to know about the trip through media reports, said the person mentioned above.
Governor Khan further wrote that he was totally in the dark about the “long foreign trip of the CM and his entourage”, said another person, also asking not to be named.
Ties between Khan and the state government have been deteriorating over the last two months.
The uneasy relationship took a downward turn in August after the governor refused to sign 11 ordinances brought by the government, which was later forced to call a special session of the assembly to pass these legislations.
Though Khan later signed a majority of the bills, he withheld his consent to two of them — one aiming to curtail powers of the Lokayukta and another to curtail the governor’s powers as the chancellor of universities.
On Thursday, Khan had raised serious allegations against Vijayan saying his office was patronising smuggling activities in the state. He also rejected charges of interference in appointments in state’s universities levelled against him by the ruling front’s leaders. At a convention in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, Vijayan and other LDF leaders attacked Khan alleging that he was trying to implement the agenda of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in state universities.
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Meanwhile, activists belonging to the Students Federation of India (SFI) on Friday blocked the entry of acting vice- chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam University Sisa Thomas, who was appointed by the Governor. Later, she entered the campus with police protection and a section of employees also protested against her.
The appointment of an acting V-C was necessitated after the Supreme Court quashed the appointment of incumbent M S Rajashree last month for flouting norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Citing the apex court order, last month, the Governor had sent show-cause notices to 11 V-Cs saying their appointments also flouted UGC norms and they were not entitled to hold their offices in view of the judgment.
Initially, the government recommended the name of Digital University V-C Saj Gopinath for the post but Khan turned it down as he was among the 11 V-Cs who were served show-cause notices.
Later, the government proposed the name of higher education secretary Ishita Roy, a senior IAS officer, but this was also turned down citing a lack of experience or technical prowess.
