THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor R S Gavai cut short his Maharashtra visit and came back to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
The return of the Governor, ahead of schedule, gave enough fodder for rumour mills as the decision on giving sanction for Pinarayi Vijayan’s prosecution has been pending.
The strongest rumour is that R S Gavai has already taken a decision on Pinarayi’s prosecution.
The article by Justice Krishna Iyer, allegedly at the insistence of CPM leadership, which appeared in a section of dailies on Thursday and Friday had set the stage for Governor’s decision.
Quoting the Constitution, court orders and British system of governance, Krishna Iyer had made it clear that a governor has no other option than to pay heed to the recommendation of the Cabinet on administrative issues.
The timing of Krishna Iyer’s article, the visit of a senior CPM Minister to Maharashtra when the Governor was there and the unscheduled return of Gavai have resulted in the spread of rumours. The Minister, without any official function, spent a day in Maharashtra.
It is not clear whether he had met anyone close to Gavai there.
The clarification sought by the Governor from the Chief Minister on the prosecution issue hasn’t reached the Raj Bhavan till Friday evening.
A final decision on the issue will be taken by the Governor only after examining the reply of the government.
The Cabinet on the other day decided to inform the Governor that it had perused all available documents before denying sanction to prosecute Pinarayi.
Raj Bhavan Sources told `Express’ that there was nothing unusual in Governor’s early return. “He came back as he was not well. Immediately after reaching here, Governor proceeded to dental college for treatment,” said a Raj Bhavan official.