Kerala Governor asks two news channels to 'get out' of his briefing

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan asked representatives of two news channels to get out of his media briefing at Kochi on Monday.

Reporters and camera crew of CPM-run Kairali channel and 'Jamaat-e-Islami', Kerala-backed Media One were asked to get out from the briefing accusing them of being cadres involved in a campaign against him. He accused that Media One was campigning against him over the Shah Bano case pertaining to maintenance to Muslim women.

Even as journalists informed that they turned up for the briefing after getting permission from the Governor's office, Khan stuck to his stand.

Earlier too there were allegations that the Raj Bhavan had banned four news channels at a press conference in Raj Bhavan. But the Governor later said in justification that no press conference was organised at Raj Bhavan, but only joint interviews were given to channels on request.

The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) demanded the Governor to tender an apology for insulting media persons after inviting them to the press conference. KUWJ would be organising a Raj Bhavan march on Tuesday over the issue.

Continuing his attack on the government, Khan alleged that the CPM had initiated the process of collapse of constitutional machinery. "If they have the guts, they should barge into the Raj Bhavan and attack me on the road," he said referring to the CPM's plans to rally all Opposition parties in a Raj Bhavan march.

With regard to Kerala government's move to remove the Governor from the post of Chancellor, he said that though he earlier offered to step down from the Chancellor post, the Chief Minister assured him in writing that there would not be any political interference.

On the nepotism allegation against Thiruvananthapuram mayor Arya Rajendran, Khan said that backdoor appointments were quite rampant in the state.

All VCs gave replies

As the time limit of the show-cause notices given by the Governor to vice-chancellors of ten universities ended Monday, all of them were learnt to have given replies. Some also sought an opportunity for personal hearings.

Khan said that further steps would be taken after looking into explanations.

The Governor on October 23 gave a 24-hour notice to the vice-chancellors to step down citing a violation of UGC norms in their selection. The action came after the Supreme Court set aside the selection of A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University vice-chancellor M S Rajasree's selection citing a violation of UGC selection.