Did not fear CM, confronted SFI on the streets; factors prompting Center to reappoint Arif Mohammad Khan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There were reports that Governor Arif Mohammad Khan may be re-appointment as the Kerala Governor again. There are hints that the service of Khan, who completes tenure in September, will be extended to five more years. The President can extend his service as per the directive of the central government. Once the term is completed, the Governor can continue until a new appointment is made. Various factors have endeared the Governor to the Center, from his public spat with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to his encounter with SFI on the streets.

The BJP central leadership is of the assessment that the stance taken by the Governor against the state government and his stand on many issues has helped the party to make a big breakthrough in the Lok Sabha elections. Appointments in universities, his stand on the SFI issue etc. were widely discussed. The actions taken by the Vice-Chancellor against the appointments in the universities had put the government in crisis. All these are factors in favour of the governor.

The BJP reviewed that the Governor's intervention showed the anti-people actions led by the government and pro-government organizations in front of the public. The government was put under pressure by blocking the bills passed by the legislature and then sending them to the President. It is also estimated that the open fight with the chief minister has influenced the voters in the state. In this situation, there is a plan to re-appoint Khan as the governor again.

Governor Arif Muhammad Khan is preparing to intensify the legal battle, including in university appointments. Along with this, when there was an accident in Kuwait, the state health minister Veena George was denied permission by the central government to go to the spot and the governor came forward in support of the Centre’ stand. The Governor had defended the Centre’s decision saying when the bodies of the dead were being brought to the state, what would she have achieved by going there for a day.

Arif Muhammad Khan is the governor who literally made the Pinarayi government drink water. He often used strong language against the chief minister. He took the path of confrontation by holding back the bills passed by the legislature in relation to the university and sending the bills to the President, infuriating the government. People even attributed to him the interpretation of the right opposition in Kerala.

Most recently, he had spoken harshly against the government to the chief secretary, who came as a representative of the state government to invite him to the inauguration of the Lok Kerala Sabha. He told the chief secretary that he could not participate and criticized the government for belittling all constitutional institutions. When his vehicle was attacked and damaged, the government took the stand that it was a democratic protest and accused many ministers of encouraging the attackers by shaking hands.