Amid frosty relations between the CPI(M)-led government of Kerala and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday released Raj Bhavan’s in-house journal, ‘Rajahams’.
The two sides have been at odds over the past several months over multiple issues, particularly a dispute regarding the use of a Bharat Mata portrait at Raj Bhavan and the Governor calling on universities to observe ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’. Subsequently, the Chief Minister had skipped the Governor’s “at home” Independence Day event.
For Sunday’s function, Raj Bhavan did not use the Bharat Mata portrait that it had insisted on putting up during events previously. The use of the portrait had led to two ministers, V Sivankutty and P Prasad, boycotting events in the past, alleging a Sangh Parivar agenda behind it. Left students’ unions had also taken out protests on the streets over the controversy.
‘Dissenting opinions allowed’
The seeming thaw in relations on Sunday, however, did not mean there were no disagreements. CM Vijayan made it clear that opinions expressed in a write-up titled ‘Article 200 and a Constitutional Conundrum’, which appeared in the first edition of the journal, were not endorsed by the government.
“The essay speaks about Article 200 of the Constitution, the powers of the Governor and the powers of the Legislative Assembly. If you ask whether the opinions expressed by the author are all the opinions of the government, the answer is no. It may be his personal opinion. That it (the opinion) appears in the official journal of Raj Bhavan does not mean that the government shares all those opinions,” he said.
However, he said that since society is open to debate, articles that express different or contradictory positions from those of the government can appear in the journal.
Framing the issue as a question of dissenting opinions, the Chief Minister said the Kerala government believes in allowing such views. “We have a democratic realm that allows dissenting views guaranteed by our heritage. The government’s approach is to keep it intact. Hence, contradictory views do not worry the government,” Vijayan said.
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Governor Arlekar, who presided over the launch of the journal, said Raj Bhavan should ideally become a Lok Bhavan, reflecting the aims and aspirations of the people of the state. There has to be a two-way communication between the powers that be on one side and the people on the other side, he said.
Vijayan released the journal by handing over a copy of it to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The journal, ‘Rajahams’, showcases the various activities and events held by Raj Bhavan, apart from featuring various developmental projects of the state.
On the occasion, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala, Dr Mohanan Kunnummal, and Dr Junaid Bushiri, Vice-Chancellor of CUSAT, were honoured for their institutions’ achievements in the NIRF 2025 Rankings
