Much Ado About Nothing’ is a Shakespearean comedy that people are reminded of in the context of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s tantrums. He has the habit of taking the moral high ground on various issues, both within and without his jurisdiction. He is also the chancellor of all the universities in the state. When the issue of appointment of a vice-chancellor cropped up, he took the stand that he would go by the rule in both letter and spirit. In other words, he ruled out reappointment of the incumbent V-C but when push came to shove, he signed on the dotted line. He also shared with the public the letter of recommendation he received from the minister concerned.In the process, he exposed himself as a weakling, amenable to pressures.
When the Pinarayi government suddenly decided to promulgate an ordinance to defang theLokayukta, he wondered aloud aboutthe impropriety of themove,more so whenthe assembly was due to meet soon. Of course, everybody knew thatthe government feared the Lokayukta’s decision on a complaint against Vijayan pending before it. After playing hide-and-seek, Khan finally relented when the chief minister called on him at the Raj Bhavan.
The governor raised a pertinent issue when he questioned thepractice of ministers appointingparty workers intheir secretariats who become eligible for life-long pension once they complete two years in office. Alas, he did it only when the government questioned his right to accommodate a journalistcum-BJP activist in the Raj Bhavan. He wanted action against anIASofficer who wrote adissentingnote, while approving the governor’s choice.
Khan accepted the ‘governor’s address’to the assembly only after the IAS officer concerned was removed from his position. In the end, he read out the whole speech, including the portions in which the government criticised the Centre’s policies on Friday. What signal does he send out by behaving in this manner? A governor has a constitutional role to play and he can do it without having to give the television channels at least one byte a day. He can be circumspect but once he takes a decision, he should stick to it. The Constitution is very clear what it expects from a governor, who is also the chancellor of the universities in the state. Indulging in theatrics is certainly not one of them.
