THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Upset by the political interference in the administration of different universities in the state, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the chancellor of universities, advised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that he might amend the Acts of universities and assume the chancellorship himself so that he can carry out his political objectives without any dependence on the governor.
“Since the assembly is not in session, you may go for an ordinance and I promise that I shall sign the same immediately,” the governor wrote in a letter to the CM earlier this week. Copies of the letter, accessed by TNIE, were also sent to Higher Education Minister R Bindu and Kerala state higher education council chairman Rajan Gurukkal.
The harsh step of the governor is a clear indication that the cordial relationship between him and the CM during the first Pinarayi government is on the verge of collapse. Certain other decisions of the government had also upset the governor, sources said. It is learnt that the CM had not returned a call from the governor to discuss official issues for three days. Finally, the governor received the call on Thursday evening after the CM reached Kannur and the call did not conclude warmly.
The pressure exerted by the chief minister’s office to reappoint Gopinath Ravindran as the vice-chancellor of Kannur University in the last week of November was the first instance in recent times when the governor expressed his displeasure. As the Act mentioned the upper age limit of VC as 60 years and reappointment, unlike extension of service, needed to be viewed as a fresh recruitment, the governor expressed reservations about the proposal.
However, Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup submitted a legal opinion saying that as per UGC regulations, the upper age limit for VC is 62 years and UGC norms will prevail over the University Act.
Recalling the incident, Khan wrote, “I fully realised that what I had been asked to do was not consistent with rules and was contrary to the law, but I had no intention to start a dispute with the state government. In order to avoid controversy, I signed the order, but I have been feeling extremely uncomfortable after that”. The reappointment was made soon after an alleged attempt by the university to appoint the wife of CM’s private secretary KK Ragesh as the associate professor in Malayalam department.
The governor was also agitated by the decision of Kerala Kalamandalam vice-chancellor T K Narayanan to challenge a ruling of the chancellor in an appeal filed by an employee related to a disciplinary action in the High Court. Though the governor wanted the VC to withdraw the appeal and he flagged the CM about the same, the VC took seven months to approach the High Court to withdraw the petition.
The utter negligence of the higher education department to the chancellor’s suggestion for fixing the pay scale of Sree Narayana Guru Open University Vice-Chancellor PM Mubarak Pasha is another instance that agitated Khan. The governor wrote to the higher education principal secretary on May 26, June 23 and August 3, asking steps to provide salary to the VC. But, the Raj Bhavan hasn’t received even an acknowledgment of those letters to date.
A few days ago, the governor returned the ‘single name’ proposal by the selection committee for picking up a new VC of the Sanskrit University and asked for three names as stipulated by UGC norms. In the file concerned, Khan noted the legal advice by AG in the Kannur University VC issue and said UGC regulations should prevail over the Act of the state university.