The Congress in Kerala on Saturday, September 17, demanded immediate intervention of the Prime Minister or the President in the ongoing tiff between State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. State Congress president K Sudhakaran told the media in Alappuzha that all levels of decency had been breached in the war of words between the two 'heads' of the state.
"Things have reached a low and all what we hear is the tiff between the two is akin to two groups of youth taking on each other. It's high time that either the president or the prime minister intervened. Also the points raised by the Governor that there has been a threat to his life has to be taken very seriously," said Sudhakaran.
Khan has been taking on the Pinarayi government and his party frequently, but it was on Friday night for the first time that Pinarayi broke his silence and slammed Khan saying that his utterances does not befit the post he holds terming it "nonsense".
Backing Pinarayi was CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan who slammed Khan and said he is deeply upset because he was expecting "something" which he did not get. "It's now being doubted by many whether Khan is functioning according to the rule book. He is taking cover under the media and uttering things which he should not. Now, he says his life came under threat at the Indian History Congress in the company of renowned historian Irfan Habib who conspired — it is really not tenable," said Govindan.
Left Democratic Front convenor and veteran CPI(M) leader EP Jayarajan said the post of the Governor should be abolished. "Pinarayi is a Communist who calls a spade a spade and always tells things on the face. He is not one who plays behind the curtain. So Khan should stop engaging in things which lowers his status," said Jayarajan.
However, coming to Khan's defence was BJP Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan who said there is no point in Pinarayi trying to air threats against Khan.
"If he does it, then he doesn't know who Khan is. Khan is just taking forward the policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fight against corruption. Pinarayi can do all such acts in his party committees. It would be best if he keeps Raj Bhavan out," said Muraleedharan.