Kerala CM Vijayan, ministers skip Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's Christmas celebrations

Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst the ongoing tensions between the Raj Bhavan and the Left government in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his council of ministers skipped the Christmas celebrations hosted by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan here on Tuesday.

Invitations were sent to the CM and all the state ministers for the celebration, but none of them showed up for the event just like last year, a Raj Bhavan source said.

The prominent persons who attended the celebrations included K V Thomas, the Kerala government's special representative in Delhi, Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan, Thiruvananthapuram city police commissioner Sparjan Kumar, Cardinal Cleemis Bava -- the Major Archbishop-catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church -- and various other leaders from the Christian community, the source said.

Khan has been at loggerheads with the ruling CPI(M) and its student wing SFI over appointments made by him to some universities of the state in his capacity as Chancellor of universities.

The Governor's recent appointment of vice-chancellors to technical and digital universities in the state had invited sharp criticism from the CPI(M) which alleged that Khan bypassed the High Court's directive in making these appointments.