THIRUVANTHAPURAM: The governor’s unexpected move to wrap up the policy address on Thursday in a few minutes stunned both the opposition and ruling benches. They were left speechless for a minute and took time to regain their composure. However, people close to the governor said that there was no ‘policy change’ on the part of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan towards the Left government.
According to sources, there were two reasons for the governor’s provocative action. One is the controversial University Amendment Act passed by the assembly which seeks to remove him from the post of chancellor. Earlier, when a dispute between the Raj Bhavan and the government arose over the appointment of vice-chancellors, Khan offered to give up the post of chancellor. However, the CM sent three letters to Raj Bhavan to pacify him and guarantee him smooth functioning. However, the government backstabbed him soon by passing a Bill to remove him as the chancellor.
When the issue of withholding assent to various Bills arose, the Raj Bhavan asked the CM to withdraw the letters sent to the governor. He was also not happy with the way the Bill was presented without consulting him as it related to the powers of the chancellor.
The governor was also provoked by the lack of action against SFI workers who are protesting against him. He was highly critical of CM’s statement justifying Left students who blocked his convoy.