Opening a new battlefront with Governor Rajendra Arlekar after the Bharat Mata portrait controversy, the LDF government in Kerala decided to modify the school syllabus to include the governor’s role, responsibilities, and limitations as the constitutional head of the state governments.
A day after he staged a walkout at a function organised at the Raj Bhavan, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said at a press conference here that the government was planning to include the constitutional rights and duties of the governor in the second volume of the Class X Social Science textbook.
“This year, the chapter on governor’s powers will be included in the second volume of 10th standard social science textbook. Higher secondary textbooks will also include the chapter when they are revised,” the minister told the reporters.
V Sivankutty said it is socially imperative that students learn about the democratic and constitutional processes that inform the country’s federal polity, including the official role of the Governor as the head of state government and the well-defined Constitutional limitations on the high office.
The minister walked out of the event at the Raj Bhavan in protest against the display of a Bharat Mata portrait, allegedly used in RSS functions, at the venue. The Raj Bhavan had described the minister’s act as a violation of protocol and an insult to the office of the governor.
The incident that occured during the Rajya Puraskar award ceremony of Bharat Scouts and Guides attended by Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar evoked a sharp response from the Raj Bhavan.
Sivankutty called the governor’s action of turning an official function into a political platform a violation of the Constitution
Later, the Raj Bhavan, in a statement, said the action was “a gross violation of protocol and a grave insult to the office of the Governor.” Quoting Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the statement said there is “no question of doing away with Bharat Mata”.
“The walkout staged by the minister from the dais while the governor was present was a gross violation of protocol and a grave insult to the office of the Governor,” the statement read.
“The minister, who handles the Education portfolio has set an unprecedentedly wrong precedent by his misconduct. Significantly, the minister has come with a prepared speech which he chose to read out – a clear indication of his preparedness for an impending showdown,” the statement further said.
This was the second instance in where a minister in the LDF government boycotted a Raj Bhavan event objecting to the display of the Bharat Mata portrait. Agriculture Minister P Prasad had kept away from another event at the Raj Bhavan on June 5 over the same issue.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the government is considering legal action against the display of saffron flag-draped Bharat Mata portrait at official Raj Bhavan events. The government is learnt to have asked the Law Department to examine the feasibility of taking legal action in the matter .
Meanwhile, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal slammed the governor for “abusing his constitutional position”. He criticized him for making Raj Bhavan the headquarters of the RSS.