THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF-dominated Kerala University Senate has once again thwarted Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's attempts to get a nominee of the varsity body included in the search cum selection committee to choose a new Vice-Chancellor.
The Senate which met on Friday decided to remain firm on its August 20 resolution asking the Chancellor (Governor) to disband a two-member search committee 'illegally' constituted by him. The Senate's stance was reportedly at the behest of the CPM which briefed members of the varsity body affiliated with the party at its headquarters ahead of the Senate meeting. The Senate's continuing 'non-cooperative' stance is likely to invite strict action from the Governor.
CPM-backed Syndicate member KH Babujan told reporters after the meeting that the majority of the Senate members decided to uphold the resolution as going ahead with a two-member panel, constituted 'illegally' would land the selection process in legal tangles. He added that the Senate would give its nominee once the Governor disbands the two-member search panel.
"The issue is not political but legal. The resolution is not against the Chancellor. We only pointed out that the notification constituting a two-member search committee without the Senate nominee would invite legal issues. The notification constituting the search committee can be issued only with three members in the panel," he said.
The High Court had recently rapped the Senate for inordinately delaying the Vice Chancellor selection process by citing 'hyper-technicalities'. After the Governor insisted on a Senate nominee, the varsity body met on October 11 but the meeting was abandoned due to a lack of quorum as pro-LDF members kept away from it. The Governor then removed 15 Senate members, including four heads of departments, nominated by him for 'scuttling' the meeting.