Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has criticised governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar for directly summoning the state police chief, bypassing the chief minister and the minister concerned. He described the move as “completely undemocratic” and a violation of constitutional principles.Vijayan said the governor’s alleged attempt to directly intervene in the state’s administration, without giving due importance to the elected govt, amounted to an open challenge to the democratic system. The governor had summoned the DGP recently following the SFI protest against vice-chancellor Ciza Thomas.He alleged that Arlekar was attempting to exercise a parallel administration by keeping the elected govt on the sidelines. “There is no justification for setting such a wrong precedent,” he said, adding that the governor was required to act on the advice and directions of the council of ministers.Vijayan said the governor could act on such matters only after consulting the chief minister or the minister concerned. The fact that no such consultation allegedly took place in connection with the developments at Kalady Sanskrit University made the matter more serious, he said.He questioned Arlekar’s direct interaction with the state police chief, who is responsible for maintaining law and order. Vijayan alleged that such a move could eventually lead to the state’s police administration being “surrendered to RSS”.He demanded clarification on whether the state police chief had met the governor with the department minister’s permission.Vijayan accused Arlekar of repeatedly interfering in higher education and universities, and said students and civil society had been mounting strong resistance against such interventions. Govt’s conciliatory approach was providing the governor with an opportunity to extend such interventions to other departments too, he alleged.“Governor has interpreted govt’s silence as submission,” he said. He alleged that the governor was effectively challenging the state govt’s constitutional and federal powers. He described it as “adjustment politics” between the state govt and governor, as it could have far-reaching consequences.Vijayan criticised UDF govt for allegedly failing to speak out against what he termed governor’s “excessive exercise of power and constitutional violations”. He cited the controversy over a meeting of officials convened at Lok Bhavan in connection with International Yoga Day.He recalled that during the previous LDF govt, similar interventions from Raj Bhavan were met with strong constitutional resistance. The then chief minister had written to Raj Bhavan and directed officials not to participate in such activities, he said.UDF govt’s alleged surrender of the elected govt’s constitutional authority and rights to the governor was not only a matter of governance but also an insult to the voters, Vijayan said.
