A leadership conclave of the Congress-led UDF Opposition reportedly felt that the Pinarayi Vijayan government and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan were mostly engaged in shadowboxing.
Ideally, the UDF should sidestep the spat and let the ruling front and Raj Bhavan slug it out.
An insider felt any attempt to corner Mr. Khan in the Assembly could work to the advantage of the government. The UDF should not risk becoming the cat's paw of the LDF unintentionally by throwing down the gauntlet to Mr. Khan.
Instead, it could goad the ruling front to move a resolution against the Governor and place its cards on the table then.
The Opposition also resolved to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for "meekly giving in" to Mr. Khan's "dubious" demand to appoint a BJP leader on his staff in a purportedly advisory role.
Quid pro quo
The UDF saw Mr. Vijayan's capitulation as a quid pro quo for Mr. Khan approving the policy address, thus saving the government the embarrassment of facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the Assembly.
Nevertheless, the UDF was reportedly united in the opinion that Mr. Khan had crossed a line by "wilfully hesitating" to approve the policy address to drive a hard bargain with Mr. Vijayan.
The Opposition felt that despite the public rage and bluster, Mr. Khan had acquiesced in every "erroneous" decision of the government.
For one, the Governor had assented to Higher Education Minister R. Bindu's questionable decision to extend the tenure of the Kannur Vice Chancellor beyond the retirement age.
Mr. Khan had granted his imprimatur for the Lok Ayukta amendment Ordinance that sought to subvert the anti-corruption powers of the ombudsman to "shield" Mr. Vijayan from corruption charges.
Unholy nexus
Briefing reporters, UDF convener M. M. Hassan alleged that Mr. Vijayan's symbiotic association with Mr. Khan was illustrative of the CPI(M) 's unholy nexus with the Modi government at the centre.
The CPI(M) had flinched from exposing the Governor. In contrast, the CPI had lambasted Mr. Khan for "crossing" his constitutional boundary.
Mr. Hassan compared Mr. Khan to a "devil quoting the scriptures for his evil purpose" for "railing" against observant Muslim women wearing hijab.
