Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, with whom the state government has been at loggerheads over various issues.
The chief minister, in his letter, has alleged the Governor is not fulfilling his constitutional duties. There is also criticism that the Governor is constantly violating protocol.
Earlier, there were reports that the government might consider approaching the Centre seeking the recall of Khan. While addressing the media as part of the ongoing Nava Kerala Sadas in Kollam, Pinarayi Vijayan said the Governor was trying to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere in the state by creating deliberate provocation.
Lashing out at Khan, Pinarayi also said that the Governor has shifted to making personal attacks and has been blurting out whatever comes to his mind. "His behaviour violates a certain etiquette to be followed by a Governor. The Centre should examine this," he said.
Meanwhile, Khan has accused the chief minister of "conspiring" to hurt him physically. The Governor had made the accusation after his vehicle was allegedly attacked by SFI members while he was on his way to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to leave for Delhi.
The SFI recently staged widespread protests against the Governor alleging that he has been pushing BJP-RSS nominees to the senate of various universities in Kerala using his authority as the chancellor of the universities in the state. Responding to the protests, Khan said the members of the SFI were "criminals" to whom he was not accountable to explain any of his decisions. He had alleged that the protesting students were "criminals hired by the chief minister".
Reacting to the Governor's remarks, Pinarayi Vijayan said the BJP-led central government has "let loose such a deranged man". "It is not a good idea to let loose such a deranged man. At least the central government should understand that it is not good to leave him in this condition. We know that things are happening with the connivance of the central government but everything has a limit," the chief minister said. He added that the Centre was using the governor to target the state besides strangulating the state financially.
(With PTI inputs)
