Thiruvananthapuram, August 17: Pinarayi Vijayan, the leader of the opposition in Kerala, launched a sharp attack on Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Monday. He accused the Governor of openly violating constitutional principles by directly summoning the state police chief without consulting the Chief Minister or the relevant ministers.
In a strongly worded post on social media, Vijayan labeled the Governor’s actions as completely undemocratic. He alleged that this was an attempt to bypass the elected government and directly interfere in the state’s administration.
Vijayan emphasized that the Governor’s attempt to run a parallel administration while reducing the government to a mere spectator is inappropriate. He insisted that the Governor is bound to act according to the advice and directives of the Council of Ministers.
Referring to the Supreme Court‘s 2016 ruling in the Nabam Rebia case, Vijayan stated that the court clearly indicated that Article 163 of the Constitution does not grant the Governor unlimited discretionary powers.
He questioned whether the state police chief had met with the Governor with the relevant minister’s permission, asserting that the Governor cannot make unilateral decisions in such matters.
Vijayan condemned the alleged direct interference of the Governor in the functioning of the state police, claiming that it could ultimately place the state’s police administration in the hands of the RSS.
He criticized the UDF government for its conciliatory attitude toward the Governor. According to Vijayan, the government’s silence was interpreted by the Governor as surrender, allowing him to interfere in the workings of other departments.
The former Chief Minister also mentioned a purported meeting held by the Governor with officials at the Lok Bhavan in connection with International Yoga Day. He pointed out that despite the opposition leader raising this issue, the UDF government deliberately remained silent, while the Chief Minister took no action.
Vijayan recalled that the Chief Secretary had reportedly expressed dissatisfaction regarding that meeting. Comparing it to the previous LDF government, he noted that the CBI-led government had provided strong constitutional defenses when similar interference occurred from the Lok Bhavan.
He reminded that the Chief Minister had previously written to the Lok Bhavan instructing officials not to attend such meetings.
Vijayan warned that this issue should not be confined to a political understanding between the Governor and the state government, as it involves the constitutional and federal rights of the elected government, with potentially far-reaching consequences.
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