Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's decision to call for the resignation of Vice Chancellors (VCs) of nine universities in the state has trigerred a political slugfest. While the ruling CPI (M) terming the move as an 'attempt to appoint RSS members' at the helm of varsities, on Monday, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the Governor has 'no such authority'. The matter, however, was heard by the Kerala High Court, which ordered that under the Governor's show-cause notice, the Vice-Chancellors can continue till he issues a final order.
The Kerala High Court, meanwhile, has decided to hold a special sitting on Monday at 4 pm to consider the petitions.
"The Governor, as Chancellor of universities, has no authority to seek resignation of VCs," Pinarayi Vijayan said. Referring to a recent Supreme Court order quashing the appointment of the vice chancellor (VC) of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University for being contrary to UGC regulations, Khan had sought resignations of VCs of nine varsities in the state by Monday morning 11. The move, however, was welcomed by the Congress-led UDF opposition.
Reacting to the controversy, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, "Governor has no authority to give such a direction. This is arbitrary, illegal & politically motivated. They want to control & destroy the higher education system of Kerala," adding "They want to appoint RSS workers there and control the higher education system so that they are able to propagate Hindutva ideology in educational institutions. It'll be challenged in court as Constitution doesn't permit Governor to issue any such order."
While CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the Governor's latest decision as Chancellor of universities in the state was "unheard of" and was one among many other similar decisions, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan welcomed it as "belated".
Satheesan, on the other hand, said that the Governor finally accepted now what the opposition has been saying for long that University Grants Commission's norms were being violated while appointing VCs in the state's universities. He, in a Facebook post, alleged that such illegal appointments were taking place when the Governor and the state government were working together. "We welcome the fact that the Governor is now ready to correct the mistake he made, even if its belated," he said.
Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu said that the "unilateral" decision of the Governor was a "deliberate and conscious effort" to create problems in the field of higher education in the southern state.
