Kerala's Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, 17 August launched a sharp offensive against Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, accusing him of brazenly violating constitutional norms by directly summoning the state police chief without consulting the Chief Minister or the minister concerned. Vijayan simultaneously trained his fire on the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) government, accusing it of a 'surrender' that was emboldening the Raj Bhavan to deepen its reach into state administration.

The Constitutional Charge Against the Governor

In a strongly worded post on social media, Vijayan described the Governor's direct summons to the police chief as 'thoroughly undemocratic' and an attempt to run a parallel administration by reducing the elected government to a 'mere spectator.' He invoked the Supreme Court's 2016 judgment in the Nabam Rebia case, arguing that the court had unambiguously held that Article 163 of the Constitution does not confer unfettered discretionary powers on a Governor.

'The Governor's attempt to run a parallel administration by reducing the government to a mere spectator is undesirable,' Vijayan said, insisting that the Governor was constitutionally bound to act on the advice and directions of the Council of Ministers. He also questioned whether the state police chief had attended the meeting with prior permission from the minister concerned.

Warning of RSS Influence Over Police

Vijayan went further, alleging that the Governor's direct intervention in the functioning of the state police — the body responsible for maintaining law and order — was a 'completely wrong course of action.' He warned that if left unchecked, such interventions could eventually lead to handing over the state's police administration to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

He also flagged a separate reported incident in which the Governor had convened a meeting of officials at Lok Bhavan in connection with International Yoga Day, alleging that the Chief Secretary had reportedly expressed displeasure over that meeting as well.

UDF Government Accused of 'Culpable Silence'

Vijayan reserved pointed criticism for the UDF government, accusing it of maintaining a 'culpable silence' even after the Opposition had raised the issue formally. He argued that the government's passivity was being read by the Governor as submission, thereby creating space for further overreach into other departments.

He said the Chief Minister had failed to act, and that the government had not uttered 'even a single word' against what he characterised as the Governor's excessive exercise of power. Vijayan called the UDF's alleged abdication of the elected government's constitutional rights 'an insult to the voters.'

LDF's Own Record Cited as Contrast

Drawing a direct comparison with his own tenure, Vijayan recalled that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had mounted a 'strong constitutional defence' when faced with similar interventions from Lok Bhavan. He noted that the then Chief Minister had written formally to Lok Bhavan and had directed officials not to attend such meetings — a contrast, he argued, with the current government's approach.

Broader Stakes: Federal Rights and Constitutional Precedent

Vijayan cautioned that the issue should not be reduced to a matter of 'adjustment politics' between the Governor and the state government. He argued it was fundamentally about the constitutional and federal rights of an elected government and carried far-reaching consequences for the federal structure of Indian democracy. With the Kerala political landscape already polarised ahead of future electoral cycles, the Governor-government standoff is likely to intensify.