Kerala CM lashes out at Guv, says central govt has let loose a 'deranged man'
Pathanamthitta (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday lashed out at Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for calling a group of protesting SFI members "criminals" and said the BJP-led central government has "let loose such a deranged man".
Addressing a gathering at Adoor near here as part of the ongoing 'Nava Kerala Sadas', Vijayan also attacked Khan for his remarks related to the Kannur region of the state.
"It is not a good idea to let loose such a deranged man. At least the central government should understand that it is not good to leave him in this condition. We know that things are happening with the connivance of the central government but everything has a limit," the chief minister said.
The Left leader alleged that Khan has been going around and calling those who oppose his ideology "rascals".
"Earlier he called renowned historian Irfan Habib a rascal. He is calling protesting students rascals and criminals," Vijayan said.
Referring to black flag protests, Vijayan said such demonstrations are being held against his government too, but never have they called protesters "rascals or scoundrels".
Hitting out at the governor over his Kannur remarks, the chief minister said it is a place that has a prominent space in the history of this country's freedom struggle and listed the names of some prominent persons from the region such as former chief ministers E K Nayanar and K Karunakaran.
He also took the names of V K Krishna Menon, K Kelappan, Vagbhatananda, poet Cherussery, O Chanthu Menon, Sukumar Azheekodu and Raghavan Master.
"That land witnessed the prominent agrarian uprisings. The world noticed Kannur through the Kayyur uprising. In 1928, (Jawharlal) Nehru participated in the Congress meeting at Kannur. (Mahatma) Gandhi ji came to Kannur in 1934. All this happened in the bloody Kannur as mentioned by Khan," Vijayan said.
On Saturday, addressing the media at the Calicut University, Khan had said that he does not believe in scaring people and was not scared of anyone.
"The CM is used to this because he comes from Kannur. Kannur has this bloody history where they have been killing each other," Khan had said.
The chief minister on Sunday also said Khan was deliberately provoking students and the people of Kerala.
Vijayan added that the central government was using the governor to target the state besides strangulating the state financially.
Khan, a day ago, reiterated that the members of the ruling CPI(M)'s students' wing were "criminals" to whom he was not accountable to explain any of his decisions.
He had alleged that the protesting students were "criminals hired by the chief minister".
Earlier this week, he had accused the Vijayan of "conspiring" to hurt him physically. Khan had made the accusation after his vehicle was allegedly attacked by SFI members while he was on his way to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to leave for Delhi.
The SFI has been staging widespread protests against the governor alleging that he has been pushing BJP-RSS nominees to the senate of various universities in Kerala using his authority as the chancellor of the universities in the state.
The SFI has been alleging that Khan's actions were part of the saffronisation agenda of the BJP.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
