CM Vijayan with governor Arlekar (L), governor with Tharoor (ANI photo)
The launch of Kerala Raj Bhavan’s journal on Sunday turned into a three-way political face-off, with both CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Shashi Tharoor criticising the governor’s office in the presence of Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.Vijayan, who was visiting the governor’s office for the first time since the controversy over the Bharat Mata portrait, criticised an article in the first edition of ‘Rajhamsa’, Raj Bhavan’s new quarterly journal, saying the views expressed reflected the author’s personal opinion and did not represent the government’s position.The article, titled ‘Article 200 and a Constitutional Conundrum’, discussed the powers of the governor and the legislature. “Just because an article appears in Raj Bhavan’s journal does not mean the government agrees with it,” he said, adding that a democratic society allowed for differing opinions and dissent.At the event, MP Shashi Tharoor suggested renaming Raj Bhavan as ‘Lok Bhavan’ to make it feel more like a people’s house, in an apparent critique of the central authority the office represents.Also read: ‘Stop the killing’: Rahul Gandhi says ‘Ladakh under attack by RSS, BJP’; pitches for 6th Schedule Governor Arlekar, later, told ANI that the journal is open for anyone to express their views and that he did not necessarily share the opinions published. He also noted that he had raised the idea of renaming ‘Raj Bhavan’ at the 2022 Governors’ Conference and welcomed the suggestion as a step towards moving away from colonial legacies.The controversial Bharat Mata portrait was not displayed on the stage, with only the national flag and the event banner shown. The governor had paid floral tributes to the portrait with a saffron flag during Yoga Day celebrations, which sparked protests. He was accused of trying to turn the governor’s office into a hub for RSS activities and of violating the constitution.
