Governor to submit report to President on CM’s Malappuram remarks; letter to be sent to govt again

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Governor Arif Muhammad Khan is likely to submit a report to the President on the chief minister’s Malappuram reference during his interview with The Hindu. Prior to this, he will sent a letter to the government seeking more details on the incident.

The chief secretary and the chief of police were summoned to the Raj Bhavan by a notice seeking clarification on the Malappuram reference, but the government stopped them from appearing. The Governor's directive was to appear at 4 pm yesterday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the Governor yesterday morning saying that summoning of officials is against all principles of democratic governance, constitutional rules and decency. In the letter, the chief minister stated that the chief secretary was directed not to respond to communications that transcended the government and not to act on the instructions of the Governor as he had no unconstitutional powers. The Governor also sent a reply to the chief minister warning that it would create an impression that he has something to hide and would be considered a violation of constitutional norms and ethics.

The serious crime of using money received through hawala and gold smuggling for anti-national activities cannot be dismissed on the grounds of constitutional decency and technicalities. An explanation was sought from the chief secretary to fulfil the constitutional duty of reporting to the President on anti-national activities. In the letter, the governor stated that he is ashamed of the government's action of not fulfilling its constitutional duty to provide information to the governor.