Amid brewing discontent between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, the former met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in Thrissur on Saturday night, September 18. The Governor's office said Khan had a brief meeting with Bhagwat, held at an RSS leader’s house in the area, at around 8 PM. "The governor held a brief meeting with the RSS chief. It was a courtesy call. It was a pre-planned meeting," a senior official from the governor's office told PTI. The Governor, however, refused to talk to the media.
The meeting assumes significance as the ongoing tussle between Khan and the ruling CPI(M) over hirings in universities escalated further on Saturday, with the former making it clear that the state government could not be given powers to appoint vice chancellors. The Left party accused Khan of creating “false campaigns” against the dispensation. Further, the Governor, who met the media in the morning, accused the Left government of preventing the police from registering a case in the alleged attempt to attack him physically at the Kannur University during a History Congress in 2019.
Khan alleged that he was attacked while attending the Indian History Congress at Kannur, there was an attempt on his life. "The shirt of my ADC was torn. Ask any lawyer if it was a cognisable offence and it means the police can act on its own and register a case, as the President and Governor cannot be intimidated. This invites a jail term of seven years and a fine. Who prevented a case to be registered and who is the Home Minister," he alleged.
However, later, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan soon called a press conference at the AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and rubbished the charges. He also accused the Governor of "unnecessarily" levelling allegations against Kannur VC Gopinath Ravindran and eminent historian Irfan Habib in connection with the incident. The Left leader said that Khan's conduct was “unbecoming of the position of Governor”.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Friday lashed out at Khan for the remarks on alleged nepotism in appointments in the state varsities, calling them "absurd."