Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is likely to submit a report to the President regarding Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged remarks about Malappuram in an interview with The Hindu. Although the newspaper has since retracted and clarified the statement, the Governor is proceeding with escalating the issue to the central government.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is preparing to submit a report to the President concerning Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s alleged remarks about Malappuram in an interview with The Hindu newspaper. This step is part of an effort to formally escalate the issue to the central government. Although The Hindu had already clarified and retracted the Malappuram reference made in the interview, the Governor seems unwilling to let go of the issue.
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The Governor had previously called on the Chief Secretary and DGP to explain, but the Chief Minister stepped in to prevent the meeting. The state government argues that, according to the rules, the Chief Secretary and other officials are not required to meet the Governor. Nevertheless, the Governor contends that he can summon them under the Rules of Business.
The Governor is likely to send another letter to the state government regarding the issue. In a recent letter to the Chief Minister, the Governor suggested that the Chief Minister was concealing something related to his remarks about Malappuram. The Governor emphasized that criminal activities cannot be hidden behind technicalities and that he sought an explanation to brief the President. He further noted that if the requested information is not provided, it would be viewed as a breach of the rules and a failure to uphold constitutional responsibilities.
The Governor is addressing the Chief Minister's statement from an interview in The Hindu, where he mentioned that funds from gold smuggling and hawala transactions in Malappuram are being used for anti-national activities. Raj Bhavan had previously sent a letter to the Chief Minister, seeking clarification on this remark.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan distanced himself from the remarks about Malappuram after the controversy escalated.