SFI protesters who blocked the Governor's car en route to the airport have been booked by the police.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. (South First)
Even as the tensions between Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan show little sign of descalating, the Kerala High Court has become a factor in the skirmish that is primarily over raj Bhavan’s alleged attempts to place Sangh Parivar nominees in key positions in the state universities.
The high court, on Tuesday, 12 December, stayed Khan’s nomination of four members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to the Kerala University senate in order to fill the quota reserved for those with exceptional skills.
The ABVP is the student arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The nomination of four students to the Kerala University senate, which Khan made in his role as the Chancellor of all state-run universities in Kerala, has been stopped by Justice TR Ravi.
According to university laws, the Chancellor was expected to propose four students to the university senate who demonstrated exceptional talent in the humanities, sciences, fine arts, and sports.
The court was debating two distinct petitions submitted by students who claimed that the Governor’s political predilection prevented them from being nominated despite their exceptional ability.
“There will be an interim stay of operation of Ext. P9 (Chancellor’s nomination) in so far as the nomination to the senate of the second respondent (Kerala University) in the vacancies of students having outstanding abilities in fine arts and sports are concerned for two weeks,” the decree stated.
In addition to suspending the nominations, the court has sent notices to the Governor’s nominees.
“It is submitted that even though the petitioners were the only two students who were found to be eligible for nomination under the Fine Arts and Sports categories, for reasons best known to the 1st respondent (Chancellor), the 4th and 5th respondents (nominees of the Chancellor) who were not included in the list are found nominated in the place of the petitioners,” stated the petition.
The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala claims that 17 of the 19 candidates the Governor nominated to the senate in recent days have BJP-RSS ties.
On Wednesday, 13 December, continued his scathing attack on Vijayan and his Cabinet by saying that “they have absolutely no shame”.
The Governor was referring to the criticism against over nominations by him to the senate of certain universities in the state.
“How are they concerned about whom I nominate to the senate? The CM and the ministers have absolutely no shame. The state finance minister came and requested me to nominate a person.
“How did these people (CM and ministers) know that the people I nominated were different from the list recommended by the Vice Chancellor? They (CM and ministers) recommended the list of nominees to the VC to recommend the same to me,” Khan alleged while speaking to reporters in the national capital.
He said he had ordered an inquiry and if it was found that VCs were recommending names proposed by the CM and ministers, “I am going to take action against those VCs”.
“No one can force me to nominate someone. If I have the power, I will exercise my discretion. I am not obligated to tell you (media) how I exercised my discretion,” Khan said.
On being told the Kerala High Court had stayed the nomination of four students to the senate of the University of Kerala, by him as Chancellor of universities, Khan said he was not aware of the reasons for the same.
He also said that the high court did not say anything about the nominations while staying the same.
Meanwhile, Kerala Raj Bhavan has intensified its targeted operations against the Students Federation of India (SFI) activists, who, in addition to waving black flags and pounding on the high-security car, stopped the Governor’s movement to the airport at three locations on Monday night.
The SFI is the students arm of Vijayan’s CPI(M).
On Tuesday, the city police received a certificate from the Governor’s personnel, stating that the car suffered damages worth ₹76,357 during the attack.
The police then produced the certificate and the remand report of the SFI leaders arrested in relation to the incident in a local court upon their insistence.
In the meantime, the court that reviewed the report made certain negative remarks about the SFI. The court said that it seemed clear that SFI workers committed serious violations, as their target was the First Citizen of the state with Z-Plus security.
Eight SFI activists have been detained thus far in relation to the incident; all but one are currently being held in judicial detention.
By proving that the accused had attempted to cause damage to the Governor’s official car, the police refuted their bail requests. Additionally, the police have stated that granting bail to the student leaders will negatively impact actions against other political organisations.
According to the prosecution’s remand report, if the SFI leaders are released on bond, they will probably use their political clout to sway the outcome of the case’s ongoing investigation. The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court 3 has granted Aman Gafoor bail in order to enable him to take the final LLB exam.
Meanwhile, SFI maintains that the Governor was not targeted and that his car was not targeted — the students were merely demonstrating with black flags and shouting slogans.
Still camping in Delhi, Khan keeps pointing his gun straight at Pinarayi Vijayan and his party’s student wing, claiming that Vijayan ordered the students to attack his car.
Amidst reports of a continuing financial crisis in Kerala, the Governor is also pressing for a report on the state government’s financial situation — something the state government is unwilling to provide.
Khan said that anyone attempting to overthrow the Governor is breaking the law and will be prosecuted under Section 124 (assaulting President, Governor, etc, with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power) of the Indian Penal Code, referring to the SFI students who were obstructing the vehicle.
The Governor noted that he had already made it plain in messages to the state DGP and the chief secretary, simply showing there was insufficiency in the charges against them.
The Governor also wanted to know which laws were invoked against activists of the Kerala Students Union (KSU) — the student wing of the Congress — for hurling chappals at a bus carrying the chief minister and other ministers as part of the Nava Kerala Sadas.
Union Minister V Muralidharan attacked the LDF government over Monday’s incident and claimed it illustrated the perilous scenario and the deteriorating law and order in Kerala. He made the statement after meeting Khan at Kerala House in New Delhi.
The SFI leadership has, however, made it plain that they would not back down from their protests against Khan.
The appointment of individuals with BJP and RSS affiliations to the senates of Kerala and Calicut universities, according to SFI state secretary PM Arsho, was the latest example of the Governor allegedly making moves to “saffronise” the state universities.
In the meantime, the SFI workers who were arrested are being charged under IPC sections 143, 147, 149, 283, and 353 by the Thiruvananthapuram city police. On the governor’s command, IPC Section 124 was charged.
According to Section 124 of the IPC, it is unlawful to assault the President or the Governor with the intention of preventing them from performing their legitimate duties. Seven years in prison and a fine are the penalties for this offence.
“If an attack takes place on the President or the Governor, a case has to be registered under Section 124 of the IPC,” Khan stated in a previous interview with the media.
Section 147 addresses the punishment for rioting, which includes imprisonment for up to two years and a fine, whereas Section 143 deals with the penalty for unlawful assembly, which includes up to six months in jail and a fine.
A person who assaults or uses unlawful force to prevent a public official from carrying out their duties may be sentenced to up to two years in prison, as well as a fine under IPC 353. This offence is not subject to bail.
Seven SFI members and 10 other identifiable persons acting on behalf of the SFI District Committee allegedly blocked the Governor, in violation of the law that states that processions and rallies are not permitted on public roadways, according to the formal complaint.
According to the FIR, the accused also prevented a police officer from carrying out his duties, waved a black cloth, hindered traffic, and blocked the Governor’s car.
Khan, meanwhile, claimed that the police leaked his itinerary so that SFI leaders could organise their protests beforehand. He also questioned if anyone in Kerala would have the audacity to stop the chief minister’s car. He alleged that the police have taken SFI leaders to various locations in order to start violent acts against him.
(With PTI inputs)
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