THRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after terming her “ignorant”, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Sunday called the higher education minister a “criminal” for presiding over the Senate meeting of the Kerala University in her capacity as pro-chancellor.
R Bindu lost no time in retorting that she was not replying to the remark as she did not want to stoop to the level of those whose actions and utterances are unbecoming of the office they hold.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Thiruvananthapuram, Khan said the higher education minister “illegally” attending the Senate meeting constituted a violation of law and it will be taken cognizance of. “I am not going to respond to criminals,” the governor said when asked further about the minister attending the meeting. Bindu swiftly retorted saying she did not intend to reply to people who do not act in a manner befitting their official position. “I am not willing to forego my standards by giving a similar response,” she told reporters.
The governor had criticised Bindu on Saturday as well alleging that she was ignorant of the law and had no respect towards the law of the land. Khan’s fresh attack comes amid reports that he was planning to seek legal opinion before taking action against Bindu for “illegally” attending the Senate meeting.
Earlier in the day, Senate members nominated by the governor called on him at the Raj Bhavan and urged him to take action against the minister.
They also demanded that Dr M K C Nair, whom they had nominated as the Senate representative be chosen to the VC selection panel.
VC in-charge gives report to guv
According to the Kerala University rules, the pro-chancellor (higher education minister) can attend Senate meetings in the absence of the chancellor (governor).
But the Raj Bhavan is of the view that the pro-chancellor can exercise that authority only after it is delegated by the chancellor. No such delegation of powers happened before Friday’s meeting, Raj Bhavan sources said.
Meanwhile, KU Vice Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal has given a detailed report to the governor on the controversial Senate meeting on Friday that was chaired by Bindu. Though the sole agenda of the meeting was to select a nominee to the VC selection panel, Bindu altered it and allegedly facilitated passage of a resolution by pro-Left members that the meeting itself was illegal.
The Left-backed Syndicate members had moved a resolution on Friday terming the meeting as ‘illegal’ on the premise that the UGC regulations insist only a nominee of the higher education apex body in the VC search panel.
Since a Bill that seeks to alter the composition of the search committee is under the President’s consideration, convening a meeting to choose a nominee was ‘illegal’, they contended.