Kerala Raj Bhavan denies reports of seeking central security for Governor

The Kerala Raj Bhavan on Saturday termed as "absolutely baseless" the reports that it proposes to seek protection by the central forces for the Governor in view of the protests against him by some youth and student organisations.

In a statement, the Raj Bhavan said there was no such move or plan on its part and that there was no threat -- direct or indirect -- to the Governor.

It further said that Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has total faith in the commitment to duty and efficiency of the Kerala Police in the discharge of their responsibility.

"They have been performing their duty extremely well and to the best of the Raj Bhavan's satisfaction. The Raj Bhavan, Kerala strongly rules out any threat, direct or indirect, to the Governor," the statement said.

The Raj Bhavan said that the reports being carried out by a section of the media are "much ado about nothing and are only a figment of their imagination and speculation".

"The media people are hereby requested to restrain themselves from misleading the public by publishing or broadcasting such baseless stories," it said.

There have been protests against the Governor by Left student and youth organisations in connection with his stand on the display of a Bharat Mata portrait -- seen in RSS events -- during all programmes, including government ones, at the Raj Bhavan.