Chief Secretary Tom Jose on Sunday met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at Raj Bhavan here.
The unusual weekend face-to-face between Mr. Khan and the State’s top bureaucrat at the Governor’s official residence sparked off intense speculation in the capital. The main conjecture was that Mr. Khan had summoned the ranking bureaucrat to convey his strong displeasure at the police response to the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest against him at the venue of the 80th Indian History Congress (IHC) in Kannur on Saturday.
The arrival of Mr. Jose at Raj Bhavan assumed a measure of political significance against the backdrop of reports that the Governor’s office had raised the issue of “breach of his security” in Kannur in writing with the Kerala Government. The Chief Secretary was not immediately available for comment.
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Meet for an hour
However, a Raj Bhavan official said Mr. Jose was closeted with Mr. Khan for sometime in the afternoon. He said he could not comment on what transpired at the closed-door meeting and the subject of discussion remained unknown.
The official said it was unlikely that Raj Bhavan had brought up the matter of Governor’s security in writing with the Government.
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The State police might have instituted a suo motu inquiry into the anti-CAA protests that appeared to target the office of the Governor increasingly, he said.
The police denied there was a security breach at the event. A top official said Mr. Khan’s security remained intact and was never jeopardised. He said the State Police Special Branch might have opened a review into the chain of events that led up to the protest and the police action that ensued.
Such revisions to identify and rectify flaws, if any, were a matter of routine for intelligence. The agency was likely to send a confidential report to the Government based on its findings.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken strong exception to what it termed as threats to Mr. Khan’s security. BJP spokesperson M.S. Kumar told journalists here that the police failed in anticipating the protest in Kannur and ensuring the venue of the educational event remained free of hecklers.