Meeting with government secretaries: Pinarayi accuses the governor of violating constitutional conventions

Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan | Photo credit: Nirmal Harindran

Leader of Opposition in Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has accused Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar of violating constitutional conventions by directly holding a meeting with government secretaries regarding events related to the observance of International Yoga Day.

“It is the duty of the governor to act on the aid and advice of the cabinet. It is unconstitutional for the governor to become a parallel power centre. The chief minister has still not responded to this. There is a widespread perception that the government is surrendering to the Sangh Parivar. The governor seems to be taking advantage of the situation. In 2024, the state’s chief secretary will appear before the police secretary. The state government has opposed it,” he said on Thursday (June 18 2026).

CMO statement

Later in the evening, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) issued a statement saying that the CMO was not aware of the meeting and only learned about the meeting through media reports. On the General Secretary’s inquiry, he officially informed the Chief Secretary that the officials were not invited to the special meeting and that only communication regarding the Yoga Day was taking place.

“The Chief Secretary also wrote to the Lok Bhavan expressing the government’s displeasure over holding such a meeting. Meetings or review meetings involving officials are part of the executive functions of the government. The Chief Secretary also in his letter to the Lok Bhavan asked to pay special attention to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” the statement said.

Published – 18 Jun 2026 20:23 IST