New DelhiIn a political controversy this Sunday, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan asked the vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of nine state universities to resign on the ground that rules were violated during their appointment.
When he refused to resign, Khan released Show cause notice He is required to respond by Monday, November 3 on his “legal right” to remain in office. The V-Cs then moved the Kerala High Court, and were allowed He will continue in his office till the Governor passes a final order based on his reactions to the notice. Khan on Tuesday give notice For V-C of two more universities.
Acting as the chancellor of state-run universities, the governor on Sunday had pointed to a Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down the appointment of the vice-chancellor of Kerala’s APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. This was on the grounds that the search committee had failed to recommend a panel of at least three names as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. Subsequently, eight other V-Cs were asked to resign.
Upholding the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 21.10.22 in Civil Appeal No. 7634-7635 of 2022 (@SLP(C) No.21108-21109 of 2021) Hon’ble Governor Shri Arif Mohammad Khan has directed the Vice Chancellors of 9 . Universities in Kerala (see picture) to resign: PRO, KeralaRaj Bhavan pic.twitter.com/tsT5tQ9NJr
— Governor of Kerala (@KeralaGovernor) 23 October 2022
Nine V-C, in his letter to Khan Allegedly said that since they were “either appointed from a single-name panel or recommended by the Search/Selection Committee as a member of a non-academic,” they were not eligible to continue in their posts.
According to his letter, in most of the nine cases, the chief secretary was a member of the search committee, pointing to political interference in the appointments.
The governor’s actions have shed some feathers in the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleging that Khan is “acting as a tool” of the national volunteer. Union (RSS).
The Governor on his part has said that he is only trying to take corrective action on the basis of the Supreme Court order.
The latest controversy, however, is the latest in a series of ongoing conflicts between the LDF government and the governor, often centered on issues related to state universities.
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how it all started
Governor’s call for VC’s resignation came after Supreme Court last week Held That the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the University would be considered invalid if the Search Committee recommended only one name instead of three-five candidates as per the 2013 rules of the UGC.
According to UGC rules, The selection of VCs should be through “proper identification of a panel of 3-5 names by a search committee through public notification or nomination or talent search process or combination”.
The Supreme Court order came on the back of a petition by an aggrieved professor, PS Sreejith, who applied for the post of VC at the Kerala government-run APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University. The post was advertised twice by the state.
Shreejit’s name was Involved In shortlist after first notification. However, thereafter, the search-cum-selection committee was dissolved, and Sreejith was not included in the second list released in December 2018.
In February 2019, MS Rajshree was appointed VC. Subsequently, Sreejit found with the help of Right to Information (RTI) application that there were discrepancies in the selection process.
He first filed a petition in the Kerala High Court, which refused to quash the appointment, and then moved the Supreme Court, which upheld his stand.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court found that the search committee had suggested only Rajshree’s name for the post of VC. Consequently, the chancellor had “no option to consider the names of other candidates”, the bench said.
The court in its order also referred to the university’s own rules, which stipulate that the selection should be from a panel.
“The committee shall unanimously recommend a panel of at least three suitable persons from amongst persons of eminence in the field of engineering sciences,” states Section 13(4) of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Act, 2015.
The governor’s office then found the same issue in the selection process of eight other universities, and, with citing a reference In the decision of the Supreme Court, the Vice Chancellors were asked to resign.
ThePrint contacted the governor’s office, but no one was “available for comment.”
Governor in conversation with the media on Monday Told that he had not sacked V-C, but suggested a “respectable exit” so that the “selection process could be started afresh”.
He also clarified that the move was not against the V-C, which he said was working “quite efficiently”, but against the selection process. “Sadly, the Supreme Court has left me no other option,” he said.
political reaction
The governor’s argument for demanding V-C’s resignation has been met with skepticism from various quarters of the state government.
CPI(M) leader and Kerala Excise Minister MB Rajesh told ThePrint that the governor had implemented a Supreme Court VC’s order on everyone else “without any evidence”.
“The decision cannot be automatically applied to all V-Cs. It was limited to a particular case of a university only on a petition filed against him,” he said.
“Secondly, no one has challenged the appointment of other V-Cs and hence they are not suspicious in any way. The V-C can be removed only on two grounds, which are misconduct and maladministration – and in these cases, neither has been enforced,” he said.
The strongest reaction came from CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who alleged that Khan was “abusing” his position as chancellor and “exercising more power than himself” and encroaching upon the powers of the V-C.
“It is undemocratic… the office of the governor is not for going against the government, but for upholding the dignity of the constitution,” he said. He is working as a tool of RSS,” said Vijayan.
State Law Minister P. Rajiv has also done it rained out On Khan, saying that “nowhere in the UGC rules does it say that the governor should be the chancellor of universities”.
Last month the Kerala Legislative Assembly pass Bill to reduce the powers of the Governor as Chancellor of State Universities. The move was preceded by a tussle between Khan and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala over various issues related to university appointments.
rising tension
Khan, who was sworn in as the Governor of Kerala in September 2019, is a former Union minister who famously left the Rajiv Gandhi cabinet. on shah banu case, His later political career includes one term in BJP.
Since the start of his tenure in Kerala, Khan has clashed several times with the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Included in 2020 When he asked the state government to submit a report as to why it moved the Supreme Court against the Citizenship Amendment Act before informing them.
In February this year, a minor dispute It arose when the governor asked Hari S. Appointed a BJP state committee member named Kartha. The government approved it, but not without stating that it was ‘against the norms’.
Earlier this month also there was an uproar when Khan said that he might sack LDF ministers who tried to “undermine the dignity” of the governor’s office, accusing the state government of overindulgence.
Hon’ble Governor Shri Arif Mohammad Khan said: “The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers have every right to advise the Governor. But the statements of individual ministers which lower the dignity of the office of the Governor may invite action including withdrawal of Anand” : PRO, Kerala Raj Bhavan
— Governor of Kerala (@KeralaGovernor) 17 October 2022
Khan’s comment Allegedly State Higher Education Minister R.K. to remove 15 senate members of Kerala University. Bindu’s criticism came after.
The LDF has now announced several protests against the governor next month.
“The governor goes ahead by declaring that he is a supporter of the RSS. His interference in the university’s issue is autocratic. Senate members were withdrawn to bring in members of the RSS. The governor is trying to control the higher education sector. Target [of the protests] Resistance has to be built against it,” CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan Told Sunday evening.
A former VC of a state university in Kerala, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he believed the governor’s latest move was political.
“The Governor seems to have sensed a political opportunity in using a general observation about the appointment of V-Cs in the recent SC judgment, which is why he initially demanded that all other Kerala VC resign. He and the government were not on good terms, especially when the government called on Hari S. A huge noise was made about the appointment of Kartha. [Khan’s] Staff.”
‘Fault of both CPI(M) and Governor’
The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, has taken a stand that the governor as well as the CPI(M) are responsible for the ongoing controversy.
“There is a tussle between the governor and the LDF. In the beginning when they had good relations, the CM gave a lot of files to the governor, and he signed all the files… these VC appointments too [Khan] Only signed. He has only made mistakes and now he is blaming the government,” Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh told ThePrint.
According to Suresh, the CPI(M) has been recruiting its people in government universities and the governor’s office also accompanied it.
“The government had sent a proposal to Raj Bhavan for VC selection and they did not verify anything and V-Cs were appointed. Now the governor is saying that the government has made a mistake. The governor is also wrong and the government is also wrong. Now they are involved in a political tussle,” he said.
(Edited by Aswari Singh)
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