CM should realise Guv cannot be deterred by such moves, V Muraleedharan on SFI protest row

Kollam: High drama played out in Nilamel on Saturday when State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, facing SFI's black flag protest, got off his car, took on the agitating Left student wing members, sat on the roadside and hit out at the Chief Minister in what seemed to be yet another chapter in the Raj Bhavan vs ruling LDF face-off.

Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told reporters that the situation "clearly indicates" that the Home Department and Vijayan, who heads it, have failed to discharge their Constitutional duties.

Muraleedharan also said the CM should realise that the Governor cannot be deterred by such moves.

"He (CM) should understand that he is playing with fire," the MoS said.

Muraleedharan said that if the media were present at the protest site, it means that even the state intelligence knew about the agitation beforehand and therefore, either the SFI activists should have been cleared in advance or the route of the Governor changed.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty, on the other hand, termed the incident as the "fourth show" of the Governor.

"The first show was when he got out of his vehicle while on his way to the Thiruvananthapuram airport when SFI activists waved black flags at him. The second one was the manner in which he concluded the government's customary policy address in the Assembly. The third was his conduct during the Republic Day celebrations at the Central Stadium in the state capital and this is the fourth one," the minister said.

Sivankutty said that no Governor of any state in the country has behaved in this manner and Khan was deliberately acting like this without considering the position he holds.

"He is challenging the people of Kerala," the minister claimed.

Khan and the Left government have been at loggerheads over several issues, primarily about the functioning of universities in the state and his non-signing of certain bills passed by the assembly.

Amid the face-off, on Thursday, the Governor had finished his customary policy address to the Kerala Assembly within two minutes, reading out only the last paragraph. PTI