Soft-pedalling by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the frequent outbursts of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan vis-a-vis the CAA has made the Congress suspect that both have joined hands, a senior state Congress leader said on Monday.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala told the media here that he expected the treasury benches to support his resolution to seek the removal of Khan from the gubernatorial post, once the Kerala Assembly begins its session on Wednesday.

"It is Vijayan, as leader of the Assembly, who should have moved this resolution. Since he has failed to do so, I am duty bound to do it. I have already served a notice to seek withdrawal of Khan.

"The stoic silence of Vijayan is baffling. Khan has been going hammer and tongs against the manner in which the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution to seek withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last month.

"But the Chief Minister has just spoken once and has been silent since then. So, we genuinely suspect if Khan and Vijayan have joined hands."

The Congress leader pointed out that Khan had a constitutional responsibility towards the Assembly on account of his post, but he has been regularly ridiculing the legislature and the passage of the resolution against the CAA.

"On Sunday, we all heard Khan praising Vijayan in his Republic Day address... we suspect their intentions. However, I fully believe and hope that Vijayan and his government will extend full support to my resolution," Chennithala said.

If one looks at what's happening in other non-BJP ruled states, the Chief Ministers there are doing everything to protect the federal principles guiding the country, he added.

"Surprisingly, while Vijayan's Communist Party of India-Marxist has been demanding withdrawal of the Governor, Vijayan is playing hide-and-seek," Chennithala remarked.

Responding to Chennithala's outburst, CPI-M leader and state Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan said the Congress leader is trying to score political brownie points on this issue.

"Who does not know what his (Chennithala) intentions are. He has always been in the forefront of projecting the CPI-M and its leaders in poor light," said Jayarajan.

Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan has said that Chennithala's request to move the resolution is in order.