Sivankutty violated protocol, guv tells CM

In letter to Pinarayi hours before KU stir, Arlekar said peaceful coexistence must not be endangered by a 'non-issue'

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @T'Puram

HOURS before he set off for the Kerala University Senate Hall to attend a function, which was marred by violent protests over the display of an image of Bharat Mata carrying a saffron flag, Governor Rajendra Arlekar had expressed his concern to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the "issue spilling into the streets."

In a letter to the chief minister, handed over through an emissary on Wednesday afternoon, the governor said peaceful coexistence in Kerala must not be endangered by a "non-issue". Later in the day, skirmishes broke out on the Senate House campus after SFI and KSU workers took out multiple protests against the display of Bharat Mata's image, used at RSS functions, at the venue, and the police and Sangh parivar activists prevented them.

In his letter, the governor said General Education Minister V Sivankutty's decision to leave a Raj Bhavan event on June 19 over the same issue was a violation of protocol and an act of disrespect towards the constitutional head of the state. Protocols are practised to maintain dignity and decorum at official functions, Arlekar said.