Amid the protracted standoff between the LDF government and Governor Rajendra Arlekar on a range of issues, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday visited Raj Bhavan and released the inaugural issue of Rajahams – the official Kerala Raj Bhavan quarterly.
Chief Minister Vijayan handed over the first copy of the quarterly to MP Shashi Tharoor in the presence of Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. Remarkably, the portrait of Bharatamba was not placed on the stage. Only the national flag and the event banner were displayed.
Speaking on the occasion, CM Vijayan expressed his dissent on an article in the magazine titled “Article 200 and a Constitutional Conundrum”, observing that the state government need not necessarily share all the views expressed in it. He said the government does not share the author’s view on the powers of the Governor and the Legislative Assembly and that the views expressed in the article reflected the author’s personal opinions and did not represent the government’s stance. He said conflicting views do not upset the state government.
“ Ours is a dialogic society. Articles that reflect perspectives different from, or even opposed to, the government may appear in this journal. For instance, the very first edition carries an article titled ‘Article 200 and a Constitutional Conundrum’, which discusses the powers of the Governor, the Legislature, and related constitutional issues. These opinions are not necessarily those of the government; they represent the author’s individual views. The fact that they appear in Raj Bhavan’s official journal does not mean the government shares them,” CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Congress lawmaker Tharoor said at the event that the name of Raj Bhavans should be changed to Lok Bhavan. He said that Raj Bhavan should become the people’s house. In response to this, Governor Rajendra Arlekar said that he had earlier raised Shashi Tharoor’s demand that Raj Bhavans should become Lok Bhavans at the 2022 Governors’ Conference at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The remnants of colonialism should be shaken off, he said.
Meanwhile, the Governor spoke at the event without responding to the Chief Minister’s criticism during the event. The Governor only said that he had asked Tharoor about what the Chief Minister had said and understood it.