By Shibimol Kg
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, conveying the state cabinet鈥檚 displeasure over the use of images 鈥渘ot in line with the Constitution鈥 at official events.The letter comes after a controversy over the display of a 鈥楤harat Mata鈥 image with a saffron flag, a symbol associated with the RSS, during various programmes at Raj Bhavan.At a Scouts and Guides event on June 19, General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who also heads the department, staged a boycott over the image. While he participated in the formal award distribution, Sivankutty publicly walked out, objecting to the use of symbols he said were inappropriate for government functions.Raj Bhavan strongly condemned his action, calling it a 鈥済ross violation of protocol鈥 and a 鈥済rave insult鈥 to the Governor鈥檚 office. A statement from Raj Bhavan also accused the minister of arriving prepared for a confrontation and claimed his remarks insulted both the Governor and the students present.The Chief Minister defended the minister鈥檚 action and reiterated that government events must remain neutral and secular. 鈥淪ome are asking what is the problem in honouring Bharat Mata. What we should see is that our Constitution does not uphold the concept of Bharat Mata. The flag in Bharat Mata is of RSS. They can honour it, but don鈥檛 think everyone should follow the same,鈥 Pinarayi Vijayan said.He added that while individuals are free to hold personal beliefs, official spaces cannot be turned into venues for political or ideological campaigns.鈥淩aj Bhavan is not a place which should be turned into a venue for political campaigns. Such moves can only be seen as a challenge to the Constitution,鈥 the Chief Minister said.This isn鈥檛 the first time the state government has raised such concerns. A similar objection had earlier forced the agriculture department to shift a government event from Raj Bhavan to the Secretariat.Amid the ongoing row, Minister Sivankutty announced that Kerala schools will soon include lessons on the powers and duties of state Governors as part of the revised curriculum.鈥淪chools are the ideal place to learn the values of democracy,鈥 he said, adding that the move aims to reinforce constitutional values and democratic principles. The new content will be introduced in the second volume of the Social Science textbook this year and expanded into higher secondary textbooks in future revisions.- EndsPublished By: Deepthi Published On: Jun 30, 2025Tune InMust Watch