The Congress-led Kerala government formally protested Governor Arlekar's direct meeting with state bureaucrats and university vice-chancellors.
The Chief Minister's Office rejected Raj Bhavan's clarification that the assembly was an informal interaction rather than an official review.
The administration's sharp pushback follows intense pressure from the CPI(M) opposition over its handled resistance to previous gubernatorial interventions.
A constitutional turf war has erupted in Kerala after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar bypassed the elected cabinet to directly summon senior bureaucrats and university vice-chancellors for a briefing on International Day of Yoga preparations.
The executive pushback comes at a politically sensitive juncture for Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s Congress-led administration, which is facing intense heat from the CPI(M) opposition for allegedly capitulating to Raj Bhavan's overreach—most notably following the recent uncontested appointment of a BJP-leaning academic, Dr D Mavoothu, to head Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam.
The friction began on Wednesday when the Governor held the direct briefing at his official residence. Attempting to de-escalate the initial queries from the Chief Minister’s Office, Raj Bhavan officials claimed the gathering was merely an informal dialogue rather than an official administrative review.
The state government flatly rejected that distinction, maintaining that any administrative assembly involving state officials remains the exclusive prerogative of the elected executive, leading to a formal written reprimand from the Chief Secretary.
The Chief Minister’s Office detailed the communication in an official statement, “The Chief Secretary has also sent a letter to Lok Bhavan, recording the government’s dissatisfaction over holding such a meeting. Meetings and review sessions involving government officials fall within the executive responsibilities of the government. The Chief Secretary’s letter to Lok Bhavan had urged that caution should be exercised to ensure that such incidents do not take place in the future,” the CMO said in a statement.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
