THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Governor Arif Mohammed Khan hinted that there were some serious issues between him and the state government, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala asked the Governor to clarify whether he had recommended conferring the Kerala University’s honorary D.Litt on President Ram Nath Kovind.
Chennithala alleged that the recommendation of the chancellor was rejected by the vice chancellor as per the directions of the LDF government and this might be the reason behind the worsening of the relationship between Governor and the government.
On Thursday, while speaking to reporters at Sivagiri, Khan said he knew certain serious things that even affect the dignity of the nation but he didn't want to speak about them.
Asking six questions to Khan and the government over the recent disputes between them, he sought a reply at the earliest to clear doubts prevailing among people regarding this. Chennithala also asked the Governor to reveal all the facts behind the issue.
He asked under what statute the vice chancellor had handed over the chancellor’s recommendation on the D.Litt to the government and whether he had submitted it to the university syndicate and the senate for approval as per the procedure. He alleged that the LDF government was unduly interfering in the affairs of universities.
On December 8, Governor Khan wrote a sharp letter to CM Pinarayi Vijayan asking him to bring an ordinance to remove him as the Chancellor of Universities. The reappointment of Gopinath Raveendran as Kannur University VC seemed to have triggered the Governor's protest.