Kerala plans lesson on governors’ powers, duties in school syllabus

AMid growing rubbing betwixt the Kerala regime and Raj Bhavan, tell superior general education minister V Sivankutty said a lesson on the constitutional powers and duties of Governors would soon be a part of the school curriculum.The announcement came just a day after Sivankutty walked out of an event at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram protesting against the display of a portrait of ‘Bharat Mata’, associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on the dais.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sivankutty said that the lesson explaining the constitutional rights and duties of Governors in India would be included in the second volume of social science textbooks for class 10 students this year. The chapter will be added to textbooks for students of classes 11 and 12 as part of curriculum revision as well, he added.“Schools are the ideal place to learn the values of democracy. School curriculum is being revised while upholding constitutional values. In the country today, efforts to destabilise elected state governments through governors are rising. The Supreme Court has recently made it clear what the constitutional rights of governors are,” the minister said.His reference was to the Supreme Court’s ruling on April 8 that set a timeline for Governors to clear state bills or refer them to the President. It also set a timeline for the President to clear them. The President has sought a Presidential Reference on the judgement.The court’s ruling came after the state of Tamil Nadu approached it citing the alleged obstructionist behaviour of Governor R N Ravi. Several states governed by parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party have seen clashes between the elected government and the Governor, whose powers are limited under the Constitution.When asked if the decision had anything to do with the ongoing row with the Raj Bhavan over the use of the ‘Bharat Mata’ portrait, the minister replied, “I strongly feel students must learn and understand the duties of governors. That’s why we have decided to include the chapter. It is a part of constitution. It is true that governors are interfering a lot. Students must be taught the right things.”In Kerala, the office of Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who took charge in January and who was seen to initially enjoy cordial relations with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan -- especially when compared to the former Governor Arif Mohammed Khan -- has been locked in a tussle with the LDF government over the usage of a portrait of ‘Bharat Mata’ , showing a woman holding a saffron flag astride a lion at official events. The CM and ministers of the state government have argued that the portrait is associated with the RSS, the ideological fount of the BJP, and its display at official government events is inappropriate and violative of secular values.On Thursday, Sivankutty walked out in the middle of an event at the Raj Bhavan to honour scouts and guides after objecting to the display of the portrait. Later, he argued that Indian nationalism draws its strength from its diversity of languages, religions, regions, cultures etc. None of these can be contained within a narrow or unified image, he said.“Calling the image of a woman carrying a saffron flag the sole symbol of Indian patriotism ignores this basic reality,” he added.Raj Bhavan issued a statement claiming that the minister’s ‘staged walkout’ was a ‘gross violation of protocol and a grave insult to the office of the Governor’. The Governor also said that there was “no question of doing away with Bharat Mata as we draw our idea of patriotism and nationhood” from it.The office of the Governor said the minister’s actions set a wrong precedent and that it viewed the developments with utmost concern.The row also spilled out onto the streets of Thiruvananthapuram with the SFI, student wing of CPI(M), taking a protest march to Raj Bhavan. In response, ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, displayed black flags as a convoy of the general education minister passed by.