THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Mohammed Khan demitting office marks the culmination of an eventful period wherein the Raj Bhavan and the Left government were in a constant tussle over a slew of issues.
The reshuffle at the Raj Bhavan where incumbent Arif Mohammed Khan is being replaced with current Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar comes amidst the continuing standoff between Khan and the state government.
Khan who completed five years in office on September 5, had kept the government on tenterhooks for most of his tenure in the Raj Bhavan. His move to keep away from the Policy Address in the state assembly and writing to the chief minister to take appropriate action against Finance Minister K N Balagopal, who “ceased to enjoy the governor’s pleasure” were hitherto unheard of, in the state’s political history.
Khan who initially began with interventions against political interference in the higher education sector, later took on the government on various issues. An unpleasant experience during an event at the Kannur University first saw the governor openly lashing out against the government. Later on, appointments of vice chancellors and formation of search committees turned out to be points of contention between the governor and the government.
Never before had the state witnessed such constant power tussles between the Raj Bhavan and the government. At one point, there was even an open war of words between the governor and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The tussles took such extreme turns that the governor put on hold many legislations passed by the state assembly. Khan even referred some of the bills to the President for consideration.
On the other hand, the state government approached the Supreme Court and the High Court more than once against Khan.
Khan’s transfer comes exactly a year after CM Pinarayi wrote to the President, accusing him of not carrying out his Constitutional duties. The CM had sought the President’s urgent intervention, including recommending the recall of the governor.
While the Left front kept on targeting Khan for attempting to saffronise the higher education sector, its youth and student outfits kept holding protests against him.
Curiously, even the Opposition UDF too was never on good terms with the governor. More often than not, it was ironically the governor who took on the role of the Opposition on different issues.