The Marxists want to make it known that they do not approve of the way the Governor is functioning. They see him as a stumbling block

Tuesday (9th January 2024) was observed as a hartal in Kerala’s Idukki district by the CPI(M) in protest against the visit of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to the State’s High Ranges. Hartals and bandhs have become routine events in the State thanks to the Left parties which call for total shut down at the drop of a hat. If the district secretary of the CPI(M) is asked why the hartal has been called, chances are that he may have to consult the party higher-ups to give an exact reason. The Marxists see him as a stumbling block to the “progressive” and “revolutionary” measures being implemented by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala Government.

The “progressive” measures against which the Governor has shown red flag include the move to appoint CPI(M) cadre and fellow travelers as vice-chancellors and faculty members in the State’s universities, the proposal by Pinarayi Vijayan to appoint S Manikumar , former chief justice of Kerala High Court as the chairman of State Human Rights Commission in lieu of favors received and the legislation to clip the wings of the Governor by removing him from the post of Chancellor in all the universities. Mani Kumar during his tenure as chief justice of the State had ensured that the cases involving universities were taken away from Justice Devan Ramachandran and handed  them over to another judge who was pliable and amenable to the former. Ramachandran had taken an uncompromising stance against the Government violating the UGC guidelines in the appointment of comrades and arty commissars in universities and other government departments.

The Governor’s refusal to sign the Kerala Government Land Assignment (Amendment) Bill  passed by the Legislative assembly made the chief minister furious and he asked the party leaders to go for an all-out attack against the former. The CPI(M)’s trump card in this game was M M Mani, MLA, former minister who is very liberal when it comes to verbally attack the rivals whether inside or outside the House. The words he used against the Governor cannot be printed.  The chief minister and his ministers as well as party leaders enjoyed Mani’s rustic words with hearty laughter.

For the last two months, the CPI(M) had given full freedom to the SFI (the student wing of the party) to humiliate the Governor whenever he made any public appearances. When the Governor went to Calicut University to attend an official function, the young comrades waved black flags at him and laid siege to the campus to prevent him from entering the University premises. The police looked the other way and it was only after a serious directive from the Raj Bhavan the cops swung into action and pleaded with the SFI activists to make way for the Governor.

All educational institutions in the State spotted banners with slogans that were personally insulting the Governor. The college where the present higher education minister Bindu was an English  professor has a banner proclaiming “Arif Mohammed Khan, your daal would not get cooked in Kerala.” 

The Kerala Government Land Assignment (Amendment) Bill would have empowered the Government to give relaxation in the restriction that the land assigned by the Government should be used only for agriculture and housing purposes. There are allegations that the Bill was a move to protect the interests of vested lobbies like quarrying and mining barons.

At no point of time in the past the State has seen the present kind of stand-off between Governors and the chief ministers. There was a time in the late 1960s and early 1970s when chief ministers like E M S Namboodiripad and C Achutha Menon used to shudder at the mention of the Governor’s name. Who can forget V Viswanathan, the ICS officer-turned- Governor who used to keep even Namboodirippadu and Menon on tender hooks.

(The writer is special correspondent wtih The Pioneer; views are personal)