During an interaction with several media houses at the Government Guesthouse in Ernakulam, Kerala, an infuriated Governor Mohammed Arif sternly asked representatives of Malayalam media houses – Kairali and MediaOne – to leave the premises after inviting them.
“If anyone from MediaOne and Kairali representatives, I will walk away,” Governor Arif thundered.
“I won’t talk to you. Get out. Please go away. You are settling scores with me on the Shah Bano case. You are carrying a campaign against me based on total falsehood,” he alleged.
There are threats against me, but I am ready to face
Speaking at the press conference later, Governor Arif said the vice chancellor, whom he had appointed to take charge at the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University of Kerala, had to face law and order issues. There are threats against him also, but he is ready to face them.
Taking on the Left parties for their proposed massive protest march before his official residence by the CPI-M on November 15, the Governor asked them not to wait till then.
Khan said he is willing to take part in a public debate over what’s happening in the state and asked Vijayan also to take part.
He is prepared to quit if the state government comes out with evidence to prove that he is interfering in the governance. It’s the other way, he said, adding that the state government is interfering in the functioning of the Raj Bhavan.
“Anyone is free to raise a complaint against him or seek legal redress if he has violated rules,” he asserted.
Turning his ire towards Vijayan, Khan said, he knows who Vijayan is as long ago, when a young IPS officer wielded a pistol, Vijayan had run away.
KUWJ announces protest on Tuesday
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said that a person occupying a Constitutional post should never resort to partisan ways of conduct.
“Avoiding a section of the media is a fascist style of functioning and undemocratic and in no way it’s acceptable as freedom of the press is of paramount importance,” said Satheesan.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists to have strongly condemned Khan’s act and announced staging a protest before the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday
Not a first for Guv Arif
On October 25, Kerala Governor Arif barred four television channels from entering the Raj Bhavan, including Kairali, Reporter, MediaOne and Jaihind. He had said that he would speak to original journalists and not to “CPI-M cadres masquerading as journalists”.
The statement invoked strong criticism from the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) stating that it was an encroachment on the freedom of the press.
In a press release, KUWJ said that such bans are an encroachment on the freedom of the press. “There are media houses which have sought time as the Governor insisted. The ban on a section of media cannot be accepted by a constitutional institution. If this continues, KUWJ will be forced to raise strong protests,” said KUWJ.
(With inputs from IANS)
