By quarreling with the state Govt and now also the media, Kerala Governor is diminishing himself
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan does not cover himself in glory by his incessant quarrels with the state Government, which is under the Communist Party of India (Marxist). And now he is fighting the media in the state, a section of which he denounces as the “cadre media.” He didn’t allow two journalists in a press briefing he addressed on Monday at a guest house. In response, journalists in Kerala on Tuesday held a protest march to the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram. Media protesting against a government is not unusual, but it certainly is against the Governor of a state. Not a day passes when Khan doesn’t cross swords with the CPM Government. For the nth time, he claimed on Monday that the constitutional machinery has collapsed in the state. Evidently, that was normal—or, to be precise, the new normal after Jagdeep Dhankhar. The former West Bengal governor had confrontations with the Mamata Banerjee Government on a daily basis. It became an unedifying spectacle, but with good results—that is, for Dhankhar who was rewarded with the high office of Vice-President. But Khan did not stop with the routine condemnation of the Kerala Government. He also said, “I challenge them [the state Government] to go ahead and barge into Raj Bhavan. And attack me on the road. You cannot intimidate me like this.” This is the language of a Hindi movie baddie (Himmat hai to saamne aa), not that of someone occupying the office of state Governor.
Khan was referring to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s claim that he (Khan) will have to face an uprising for not signing certain Bills and issuing show-cause notices to 11 vice-chancellors. While Governors not clearing Bills is not unprecedented, issuing show-cause notices to vice-chancellors is unheard of. To be sure, the Governor is the Chancellor of universities, including General universities, agricultural universities, technical universities, and medical universities. The Chancellor has the power to appoint vice-chancellors by setting up a search committee, recommend a panel of names from which final selection and appointments are made. The Chancellor also has the authority to grant leave or institute disciplinary action and award penalties. But there are also traditions and conventions that need to be respected; in fact, our democracy, patterned on the Westminster system, is predicated on following conventions. By dealing directly with vice-chancellors, Khan is setting a precedent, whereas as Governor is expected to follow precedents. If every Governor—and President—begins setting precedents, our system will become utterly chaotic. Khan must realise that, by his regular run-ins with the state Government, he is diminishing himself. So far, he has been known as a conscientious, liberal leader who had the gumption to take of the Muslim clergy and his own government in the mid-1980s. He should ensure that history doesn’t remember him as a Governor who regularly needled the state Government.