THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tussle between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is a tool of the Modi government, and the LDF government that stands firm for upholding secular credentials is a reality, said CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
“Though Congress-led opposition is providing all assistance to the governor, the people of the state will understand the real politics behind the governor - government tussle. The standard of the governor’s game without rules became evident from the way he had slammed the Kannur University vice-chancellor,” wrote Kodiyeri in his weekly column in the CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani daily on Thursday.
“Kannur VC Gopinath Ravindran is a historian of repute. The governor termed such a brilliant academic a ‘criminal’. Though there was strong protest against the usage, the governor ignored it and subsequently called world renowned historian Irfan Habib as a street goonda. His immaturity has stooped to that level,” said Kodiyeri.
Narrating the background of protests across the country during the introduction of Citizenship Amendment Act and how Irfan Habib had staged a protest during the inaugural of Indian History Congress in Kannur in 2019, Kodiyeri said Arif Mohammed Khan was trying to be the commander in chief who destroys academics who challenge the anti-secular and anti-Muslim policies of the Modi government.
“The divide between the governor and the government is actually the divide between those who support Modi’s policies and oppose them. It is important to see who stands where at this juncture,” he said.
Kodiyeri also pointed out that similar fights between state governments and governor were staged in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
“In some states, the governor was removed as chancellor of universities through legislations. In some other states, chief ministers launched open protests against the governor. But, the stand of the Kerala government was that there should be cooperation between the governor and the government,” Kodiyeri wrote. “Whenever there were provocative steps from the governor, the CM and the state government showed utmost restraint to avoid an explosive situation,” he said.