The politically fraught controversy regarding CRPF security for Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has metastasised to a broader debate on the jurisdictional boundaries of Central and State governments and foundational principles of cooperative federalism.
The Centre’s contentious decision to rush Central paramilitary cover for Mr. Khan on the premise that Raj Bhavan found the State law enforcement’s protection perilously wanting has incensed the ruling LDF. The LDF inferred that the BJP-led Union government seemed more motivated by the political optics of its “high-profile and drastic response” than the “impromptu” measure’s legal effectiveness or federal implications.
Also Read | Fraught Centre-State relationship comes under further strain after MHA provides CRPF security for Governor
The LDF felt that Mr. Khan cried wolf to portray the State as one overrun by violent Left-wing mobs abetted by the police. The factual predicate that informed the Centre’s move to rush the CRPF for Mr. Khan’s proximate security seemed dubious and politically motivated, according to the LDF. Mr. Khan has since denied that he had sought CRPF protection from the Centre.
‘Protocol breached’
The CPI(M) has dug its heels in the spat with Mr. Khan. State secretary M.V. Govindan told reporters on the sidelines of the party’s central committee meeting at the AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram that the CRPF deployment would not deter protests against Mr. Khan.
He denounced Mr. Khan’s claim that SFI activists had ambushed his vehicle in Kollam on Friday. Instead, Mr. Govindan accused Mr. Khan of exiting his car in an egregious breach of VIP security protocol, confronting protesters up close and acting as an agent provocateur for the BJP.
He said Mr. Khan’s ‘antics’ would not electorally aid the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. LDF convener E.P. Jayarajan said Mr. Khan prompted the BJP-led Union government to take on a policing role in Kerala, a job not envisaged in the Constitution.
A list of names
On Friday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took an oblique dig at Mr. Khan by reading out the names of RSS leaders with CRPF protection in Kerala. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan took umbrage and said Mr. Vijayan conveniently glossed over the names of SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan and spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi, who have CRPF protection.
He slammed Mr. Vijayan for allegedly portraying the storied paramilitary force as a political arm of the Centre. IUML leader P.K. Kunhalikutty stayed clear of taking sides in the debate and said the government and Mr. Khan were equally at fault.
