Yet to forget Onam snub, Kerala Governor Khan says CM Vijayan has ‘no sense of shame’

Governor Khan's comment came when reporters said Vijayan had accused him of using his post to sabotage state universities.

ByPTI

Published Feb 09, 2024 | 8:21 AMUpdatedFeb 09, 2024 | 8:21 AM

Governor Khan

Hours after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a dig at the Kerala Governor, saying he spends very little time in the state, Arif Mohammad Khan shot back saying such comments “speak very poorly” of those who do not invite him to Onam celebrations.

Khan also that the chief minister and his government have “no sense of shame” as they did not even bother to apologise to him for pressuring him to reappoint Gopinath Ravindran as the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University.

He said that he had initially told the government that it was not right to pressure him to re-appoint Ravindran, “but they came with the opinion of the advocate general and I okayed it”.

“But the Supreme Court made him vacate the post. Instead of saying sorry for what they pressured me to do, people who do not have any sense of shame are free to say anything they like,” Khan told reporters in New Delhi.

Also Read: Kerala’s peripatetic Governor Khan: Missing from Raj Bhavan once every three days

Sabotage charge against Khan

He was responding to reporters pointing out that the Kerala chief minister, during his speech at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi as part of the LDF protest against the Union government, had accused the Governor of using his post to sabotage the functioning of universities.

When reporters sought his stance regarding Vijayan’s comment that the Governor spends very little time in the state, Khan said that all his programmes are approved by the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

“So, in fact, people who do not invite the Governor even for the Onam celebrations making this complaint speaks poorly of them. It speaks very poorly of them,” he said.

Vijayan had also said that if at all Khan does come to Kerala, he does not have time to read out the entire Governor’s address in the Assembly. “But, he has time to sit on the road and create a scene,” Vijayan mocked, referring to a recent sit-in on the road held by Khan.

The LDF, led by Vijayan, held a protest at Jantar Mantar on Thursday, 8 February, against the Union government’s alleged neglect towards the southern state on financial matters.

Also Read: Targeting Governor: Kerala’s LDF says the constitutional post he holds is ‘inessential’

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)