Thiruvananthapuram: In an event hosted on the occasion of Republic Day by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Raj Bhavan on Friday, neither Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet ministers nor the ruling LDF MLAs attended. The incident became another chapter in the ongoing strife between the LDF government and Khan in the state, PTI reported.
According to official sources, the CM, ministers and MLAs were invited to the event held from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm, but none of them came.
The state government was represented by the General Administration Department, Additional Chief Secretary K R Jyothilal, the sources said.
On Thursday, Khan in an unusual move had read out only the concluding paragraph of the government's customary policy address in the Assembly.
Earlier today, during the Republic Day celebrations at the Central Stadium in the state capital, Khan and Vijayan were seen ignoring each other, even though they were sitting side-by-side.
The Governor and the Left government have been at loggerheads over several issues, primarily about the functioning of universities in the state and his non-signing of certain bills passed by the Assembly.
It also resulted in his facing widespread protests across the state from the CPI(M), its youth wing -- Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) -- and its student outfit -- Students Federation of India (SFI).
In a Republic Day speech, Khan criticised the Kerala government while praising the Centre. "The future depends on what we are in our thoughts and actions. For this, we need institutions of higher education which are truly autonomous and free from any outside interference that leads the youth to engage in activities which pollute the academic environment," he said at the event.