The Kerala Raj Bhavan is learnt to have officially informed the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government that the Governor Arif Mohammad Khan would omit from reading the 18th paragraph in his official address to the State Assembly that convenes for session this morning.

The 18th paragraph apparently has reference to the “views” of the State government with respect to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and should not form part of the address that sets out to put forth its “policies and programmes,” an official communication from the Raj Bhavan said.

The Governor and the State government have been engaged in a battle of wits over the CAA, which the latter holds as divisive and designed to further the “Centre's sectarian interests” and drive its “majoritarian agenda.”

Both the ruling LDF as well as the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have been holding protests against the Act, triggering accusations from the BJP on how each was competing with the other to pander to what was described as “interests of the minority vote banks.”

It is not the first time that a Governor would miss out reading a part of the prepared text of the policy address to the State Assembly, but, according to experts, there has been no precedent in which he has written in advance to the State government saying that he has objection to reading out a part.

This may suggest, on the face of it, a flash point in the ongoing feud between the head of the state and the head of the government, but only just, the experts said.

The prepared text handed to him in advance would remain in the official Assembly archives, irrespective of what he may choose to read out or not. On the other hand, if he were to digress from it and add his own statement, it would not get into the official records, the experts said.

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