Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP central leadership has put its foot down on the state party’s move to corner the Governor for his alleged ‘inaction’ on the Kannur violence and said that it has to respect constitutional bodies. Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said in New Delhi, “the Governor’s action of handing over the BJP delegation’s petition to the chief minister was according to the Constitution and it should be accepted. I hope the Governor will take appropriate action,” he said.
State general secretary Sobha Surendran had said in Delhi on Sunday that the Governor should quit if he was afraid of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Mr P. Sathasivam was made the Governor by the Modi government and it did not want to ruffle the feathers of Raj Bhavan. State president Kummanam Rajasekharan has remained tightlipped on Ms Sobha Surendran’s comment.
“Sobha’s views do not belong to the state leadership,” aid a top BJP leader.
Ms Sobha Surendran, however, sharpened her attack on Monday and told DC that she stuck to her remarks against the Governor.
“I had said that if the Governor was scared of Mr Pinarayi Vijayan, he should step down. I still stick to my opinion. A Governor cannot run away from responsibilities and there are several mechanisms to manage the situation like chairing an all-party meet, visiting the affected areas and summoning the chief secretary and the DGP,” she said.
Though Mr Pinarayi Vijayan had promised a ‘violence-free state’ after the all-party meeting in Kannur on February 14, three murders had happened. She alleged that the chief minister had charged the Indian Army with outraging the modesty of women. “This has affected the morale of the soldiers. He has breached his oath of office and should apologise to the nation,” she added.
