Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan meets RSS chief
Thrissur, Sep 17: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan Saturday night met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here amid the brewing discontent between the governor and the state's Left government.
The governor's office said Khan had a brief meeting with Bhagwat at around 8 PM.
The meeting took place at an RSS leader's house here.
"The governor held a brief meeting with the RSS chief. It was a courtesy call. It was a pre-planned meeting," a senior official from the governor's office told PTI.
The Governor, however, refused to talk to the media.
The meeting assumes significance as the ongoing tussle between Khan and the ruling CPI(M) over hirings in universities escalated further on Saturday with the former making it clear that the state government could not be given powers to appoint vice chancellors. The Left party charged Khan with unleashing 'false campaigns' against the dispensation.
The Governor, who met the media here in the morning, accused the Left government of preventing the police from registering a case in the alleged attempt to attack him physically at the Kannur University during a History Congress in 2019.
But, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan soon called a press conference at the AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and rubbished the charges.
He also targeted the Governor for "unnecessarily" levelling allegations against Kannur VC Gopinath Ravindran and eminent historian Irfan Habib in connection with the incident.
The Left leader charged Khan's conduct was unbecoming of the position of governor.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Friday lashed out at Khan for the remarks on alleged nepotism in appointments in the state varsities, calling them "absurd.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
