Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, during a press conference held in Pathanamthitta as part of the Nava Kerala Sadass, an outreach program of the state government, strongly accused Governor Arif Mohammed Khan of intentionally seeking to disrupt the peace in the southern state by making inflammatory statements.
Addressing reporters' queries about the Governor's characterization of protesting Students Federation of India (SFI) activists as "criminals," Vijayan expressed his concern that Khan seemed to be speaking without due consideration for his role as the Governor of Kerala. The Chief Minister asserted that he had previously noted Khan's deliberate attempts to disturb the state's peace through his actions, and recent events have only validated this concern.
Vijayan criticized Khan for using derogatory terms like "criminals" and "goondas" to refer to the protesting activists, questioning the appropriateness of such language. The Chief Minister highlighted Khan's consistent efforts to provoke various issues and condemned his confrontational approach toward the SFI activists during the recent incident when his vehicle was allegedly attacked.
The Governor's recent statements, including branding the protesting students as "criminals" hired by the Chief Minister, were rebuked by Vijayan. He expressed disappointment at Khan's use of provocative language and urged the central government to examine the Governor's actions for potential violations of normal protocols.
Vijayan drew attention to the contrasting approach taken by him and his administration when faced with protests, emphasizing their commitment to maintaining non-violence and allowing the police to handle such situations. He emphasized that while facing protests or black flags, neither he nor his ministers or members of the Left front resorted to derogatory language against the protesters.
The Students Federation of India (SFI) has been actively protesting against the Governor, accusing him of promoting BJP-RSS nominees to university senates in Kerala, allegedly utilizing his authority as the Chancellor of the state's universities. The SFI alleges that Khan's actions are part of the saffronization agenda of the BJP.
