Kerala Governor terms govt inaction over 2019 heckling incident as 'collapse of constitutional machinery'

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday hit out at the Pinarayi Vijayan government once again for inaction over the 2019 attack on him, terming it as the beginning of "collapse of the Constitutional machinery".

"The Left are free to say anything, but one thing is certain I cannot be pressured. They can make statements, arrest people who wear black shirts but are not taking action when there is an assault on Governor. In fact, that is the beginning of the collapse of the Constitutional machinery. But I didn't pursue it because the attack was on me. Even if I am upset with somebody, I shall not allow my bias/prejudice to affect my decisions. Decisions will be taken purely on merit," he said while hitting out at the government.

"Whatever decision I take, shall be dictated by the requirements rather the obligations which I have on me and that is to decide every issue on the basis of Constitutionality, law and its spirit," he added.

The Kerala Governor last week slammed the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Kannur University Gopinath Ravindran for not taking any action against people, including historian Irfan Habib for the 2019 heckling incident.

The Governor has slammed the historian alleging that he physically assaulted him at a 2019 event.

Khan issued a statement asking the historian to watch the videos from the event, where according to Khan, Habib tried to physically assault him.

"I would request you, Mr Irfan Habib, to watch the video of the history congress 2019, and you will see that while I had just started dealing with the questions you had addressed to me, you got up from your seat and tried to assault me physically, will you please clarify if these attempts to overawe me physically were academic acts or you behaved like a small-time street goonda?" the statement read.

The Kerala Governor further asked professor Habib for clarification on his behaviour. He also alleged the then vice-chancellor, who had invited him, of being an accomplice in the crime.

"The Vice Chancellor of Kannur University who had invited me never reported this, therefore, why it should not be presumed that VC Kannur university was your accomplice in carrying out the conspiracy, after all the disgraceful goondaism that you indulged in at Kannur University, if you still claim to be an academic, then the term academic will need some new definition," Khan further alleged.

Khan had earlier alleged that Ravindran is a criminal. He even alleged that he had hatched a conspiracy to physically attack him during the Indian History Congress, hosted by Kannur University, where he was invited during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitations back in December 2019.

( With inputs from ANI )

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