The acrimony between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan came to the fore during the swearing-in ceremony of two ministers at the Raj Bhavan on Friday.
Not only did the two not see each other face-to-face, but there wasn’t even a customary handshake during the 30-minute event in which Congress(S) leader Ramachandran Kadannappalli and Kerala Congress (B) leader K B Ganesh Kumar were sworn in as Ministers in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government.
The chief minister and the governor didn’t exchange a word or even acknowledge each other’s presence, despite sitting side by side during the ceremony. After the ceremony, Khan returned without even looking at the Vijayan.
Both of them gave enough indication that the war between the governor and the government would continue.
The usual practice is that the chief minister and Cabinet ministers would take part in the tea party hosted by the governor, after the oath-taking ceremony. However, only the new ministers (KB Ganesh Kumar, Kadannappalli Ramachandran) and Forest Minister A K Saseendran attended the tea party. The Chief Minister and other ministers, barring AK Saseendran and new ministers, boycotted the tea party.
The governor has been at loggerheads with the LDF Government in the state over several matters, including the signing of bills passed by the Assembly, appointment of vice-chancellors for the universities in the state and nomination of members to the university senates.