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Amid the ongoing standoff between the Kerala government and the Governor, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday, September 28, attended an event at the Raj Bhavan marking the launch of its in-house journal ‘Rajahams’. The visit assumes significance as it comes months after the “Bharat Mata” controversy, which had further strained relations between the state government and the Governor.
Interestingly, the portrait of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag, which led to the row, was missing at the event.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan however took the occasion to express his objection to an article written by Governor’s legal advisor P Sreekumar in Rajahams. In the article titled ‘Article 200 and a Constitutional Conundrum’, Sreekumar had argued that the Governor was not bound to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers when exercising powers under Article 200. Addressing the issue of delay in signing the bills, the article further argues that judicial intervention in such matters would be inappropriate, as it falls within the domain of the legislature.
The CM said that views published in the Raj Bhavan’s official journal “do not necessarily reflect the position of the state government.” He said that Kerala has never been hostile to differing views, and the government will not be affected by any such remarks, he said. The event was also attended by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
The Bharat Mata controversy erupted in June when two state ministers walked out of a Raj Bhavan function in protest against a depiction of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag. They clarified that their objection was not to the image of Bharat Mata itself, but to the saffron symbolism – a symbol of Hindu nationalism. The Governor, however, defended the display and continued using the same imagery in subsequent events.
Tensions between the Governor and the Left-led state government have persisted since the tenure of former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and have continued under the current Governor, Rajendra Arlekar. The friction, which began in 2022 over the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor, has since expanded to cover a range of administrative and constitutional issues.