Kerala Governor-government rift reflects during minsters' swearing-in ceremony

The worsening Governor-government rift in Kerala was visible at the swearing-in ceremony of two ministers on Friday with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan giving cold shoulders to each other.

Both Khan and Vijayan did not greet each other during the function at Raj Bhavan. While the governor left the venue soon after the swearing-in ceremony, the chief minister also skipped the usual High Tea at Raj Bhavan soon after the event. Many ministers also skipped the swearing-in ceremony.

Kadannappalli Ramachandran of Indian Congress (Socialist) and K B Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B) were inducted to the cabinet by replacing Minister of Ports Ahammed Devarkovil of Indian National League and Minister for Road Transport Antony Raju of Janadhipathya Kerala Congress.

The shuffle was made as per a seat sharing understanding made among the major coalition parties during the government's formation in 2021. While Kadannappalli was given Ports, Museum, Archeology & Archives portfolio, Kumar was given Transport portfolio.

The Governor-government rift prevailing in Kerala for quite some time recently worsened further with the state government moving court accusing the governor of delay in decision on bills passed by the Assembly and nominating persons allegedly with 'BJP-RSS' links to the universities. The state also recently witnessed CPM's student outfit SFI staging strong protests against the governor and the latter even directly confronting student activists who waved black flags in front of his vehicle.

The Opposition Congress boycotted the swearing-in ceremony alleging that Ganesh Kumar had conspired against former chief minister and Congress leader Oommen Chandy in the solar scam case.