Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lashed out at Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for seeking the resignation of Vice Chancellors of nine universities in the state. The CM said that the Governor has no such powers and accused him of acting against the Constitution and the essence of democracy.
The Chief Minister also blamed the Governor for showing unusual haste and over enthusiasm. "With this he is forgetting basic principles laid down by law and justice,” Pinarayi Vijayan said addressing a press conference in Palakkad on Monday.
Accusing the Governor of "waging war" with an intention to "destroy" the universities in the state, the Chief Minister alleged that the move was an encroachment on the powers of a democratically elected government and the universities, which are supposed to be academically independent.
Governor Khan, as Chancellor of universities in the state, had directed VCs of all the nine varsities to submit the resignations by 11.30 am on Monday.
"It was the Governor who appointed the VCs of these nine universities and if these appointments were made illegally, then the primary responsibility lies with the Governor himself. If going by the logic of the Governor, is it the VCs who should quit? It's better to think about it." the Chief Minister said, adding that the Chancellor has no authority to seek their resignations.
The SC, while setting aside the appointment of Rajasree MS, as the VC of APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, held that the appointment will be "void-abinitio", if not made as per the UGC mandate of a panel of three names proposed by the Search Committee.
The Governor wrote the letters seeking resignations to six VCs arguing that the verdict is binding on all VCs, who were appointed bypassing the norm. VCs of three other universities were asked to resign for forming Search Committees with non-academic members.
Pinarayi also said that the Governor is misusing the Chancellor post to impose the power which he actually does not have. “This is anti-constitutional and against the essence of democracy. By asking the VCs to quit based on the verdict binding on Kerala Technical University, he is acting as a tool of the Sangh Parivar. He is waging a war against the Universities of Kerala which are marching towards academic excellence. What is the motive behind this assault? What is behind this other than political intentions?" Pinarayi asked.
With PTI inputs