THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A thaw in the strained relations between the state government and the governor was visible after Rajendra Arlekar replaced Arif Mohammed Khan at the Raj Bhavan. Recently, Arlekar even discarded protocol and visited Cliff House to wish the chief minister on his birthday. Only a couple of days back, the governor appointed the state government’s nominee as vice-chancellor in-charge of the Malayalam University, though it was not binding on him to do so.
But, the honeymoon is, it seems, now over? An image of the “RSS version” of the image of Bharat Mata at the venue of the state agriculture department’s programme at the Raj Bhavan to mark World Environment Day on Thursday, appears to have put a dampener on the warm ties between the government and the governor.
Objecting to the picture, allegedly used by the RSS at its official functions, Agriculture Minister P Prasad boycotted the event, triggering a sharp response from the governor. The issue ignited a political debate with the Left rallying behind the minister and the BJP backing the governor.
The controversial image had come to the notice of agriculture department officials, who visited Raj Bhavan the previous day to assess preparations for the programme. After the minister was informed of the matter, the government requested the Raj Bhavan to remove the image. However, it was turned down, prompting the government to shift the programme to the Durbar Hall at the state secretariat.
Instead of the governor, who was scheduled to inaugurate the event, the minister carried out the task. Meanwhile, Raj Bhavan went ahead with the programme of planting saplings at its premises to mark World Environment Day.
Prasad later told the media that the venue was changed because the Raj Bhavan informed the government that floral tributes had to be paid before the RSS version of Bharat Mata ahead of the inauguration.
“The government is not bound to oblige when the Raj Bhavan takes such a stubborn stance. The Raj Bhavan should not be turned into a venue for narrow-minded politics,” he said.
Governor Arlekar hits out at Agriculture Minister
The custom of displaying the image of Bharat Mata for events at Raj Bhavan began after Arlekar assumed office, he said. People of various religions and political affiliations attend a government programme, the minister said, and wondered “what will be the situation if the Communist Party flag with hammer and sickle is used for a such an event.”
Meanwhile, Arlekar hit out at Prasad. “I told the minister that we will do everything possible but we cannot remove Bharat Mata, our ‘matru bhoomi’. These are the ideals for which we live. We cannot do away with them,” he said at a programme held at the Raj Bhavan. From time immemorial, India has had a tradition of worshipping and protecting trees, water, and air, and some present day ‘isms’ are demanding that this tradition be abandoned, he said.
“Real environment protection is possible only by upholding our tradition and living a life true to it,” he said.
LDF’s major constituents CPM and CPI rallied behind the minister on the issue. CPM state secretary M V Govindan termed the incident as yet another attempt at saffronisation of the Raj Bhavan. “Bharat Mata is not an official symbol nor does it have an official image. There is no need to insist that it be used for official functions,” he said.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said the diversity that Bharat Mata embodies cannot be ensured if any group tries to fix a specific image to it.
Former Mizoram governor and BJP national executive member Kummanam Rajasekharan said, “There is no need to view the image of Bharat Mata as a religoius symbol and boycott an event.”
Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said the LDF government had ignored his earlier warnings that the Raj Bhavan was being turned into an RSS centre.
“The governor is the constitutional head of the state. The Raj Bhavan should not be converted into the RSS headquarters. But the LDF government has been afraid to raise the issue,” he said.