The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has closed ranks in the wake of the "political and legal crisis" caused by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's "strident public pronouncements" against the Pinarayi Vijayan government.
In Thiruvananthapuram, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan addressed a public meeting to explain the party’s political position vis-à-vis the Governor’s “trespasses on the Assembly’s legislative power and attack against the government.”
Mr. Khan had provoked the LDF's ire by implying at an uncustomary press conference recently that he would not sign into law the University Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022 and the Kerala Lok Ayukta (Amendment) Act, 2022 recently legislated by the Assembly.
Mr. Khan had also slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for “undermining the autonomy of universities, defanging the Lok Ayukta to escape prosecution and preventing the police from probing the attempt on the Governor’s life at Kannur University in 2019.”
Mr. Govindan read politics into Mr. Khan’s position by accusing the latter of promoting the anti-Left agenda of the RSS. He spotlighted Mr. Khan’s interaction with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the eve of the Governor’s controversial press conference to impute political motive.
Mr. Govindan said the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests against Mr. Khan at Kannur University was spontaneous and not a conspiracy involving the government as the Governor alleged.
The CPI has petitioned President Droupadi Murmu against Mr. Khan. In an open letter, Binoy Viswam, MP, said the Governor had precipitated a constitutional crisis by stating that he would not assent to the legislations duly passed by the Kerala Assembly.
The government is seeking legal recourse to circumscribe the Governor’s alleged “constitutional overreach and infringement on the Assembly’s jurisdiction.”
Congress stance
The Congress party blamed the LDF government for "stalling" the police investigation into anti-CAA protestors who heckled Mr. Khan at the varsity. However, the party said it was staying above the fray in the Governor-government shadowboxing.
Meanwhile, BJP State president K. Surendran came out strongly against the LDF government’s attempt to “single out” Mr. Khan for slander and attack.
