Kerala Governor Sends Notice To the Vice Chancellors, CM Vijayan Sees RSS Hands; What Transpired So Far In Kerala VC Resignation Row

Taking his conflict with Kerala government to a new low, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan today issued notice to the Vice Chancellors of nine universities for disobeying his order to resign by today 11:30 am. 

Citing the Supreme Court judgement that annulled the appointment of Rajasree M S as the Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Khan said, "Now, they have refused to resign. Now formal notices have been issued.". 

Following the verdict of the SC, he yesterday sent directives seeking nine VC’s resignations.

However, none of the VC resigned and instead sought the intervention of the Kerala High Court. The HC has decided to conduct a special hearing today itself considering the gravity of the situation. 

The conflict between the Kerala Chief Minister P Vijayan and the Governor became further complicated as the CM alleged that Khan is acting as a ‘tool of the RSS’.

Accusing the Governor of misusing power, Vijayan while addressing the media said that the post of the Governor is not for opposing the government rather it is dutybound to uphold the constitutional dignity. The new row between these two longstanding rivals came in the backdrop of the recent letter of the Governor seeking resignation of nine Vice Chancellors of the University citing gross discrepancies in the appointments.

Vijayan termed the order of the Governor as “undemocratic and an encroachment on VCs' powers.” Earlier, the CM instructed the VCs not to submit their resignations. 

Noting that if there is any discrepancy, the accountability lies with the Chancellor that is the Governor, Vijayan said, “It was the governor who appointed them, and the responsibility of illegality in appointment - if there are any - also lies with him.”

The Governor’s directives were addressed to the VCs of University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries & Ocean studies, Kannur University, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, University of Calicut, and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.

Discrepancy in VC appointments?

Questioning the appointment of Rajasree M S as the Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, former Dean of the Engineering Faculty of Cochin University of Science and Technology Sreejith P S filed a case to the Kerala High Court.

Notably, both the single bench and division bench of Kerala HC denied entertaining his plea. While Sreejith cited the violation of UGC regulations of 2010, the HC said that there were subsequent amendments made to the regulation in 2013 that was not adopted by the state freeing it of the obligation to follow it.  

As per the 2010 UGC regulation, the search panel formed to find the name of the VC among the eminent persons must recommend three names to the Chancellor among which she/he will appoint one as per her/his discretion. In the case of Rajasree M S, the allegation is that the panel recommended only one name giving the Governor/Chancellor no option to contemplate other options.

While the HC knocked the petition down, Sreejith went to the SC where the bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar annulled the appointment of Rajashree M S citing the violation of UGC regulations. Ruling out the non-adoption clause cited by the HC, the SC said, “merely because the subsequent amendment has not been specifically adopted/accepted by the State cannot be a ground by the State to contend that the amendment to the Regulations shall not be binding on the State/State’s Universities”.

The judgement also noted, “As per Section 13(4) of the University Act, 2015, the (Search) Committee shall recommend unanimously a panel of not less than three suitable persons from amongst the eminent persons in the field of engineering sciences, which shall be placed before the Visitor/Chancellor. In the present case, admittedly the only name of respondent No. 1 was recommended to the Chancellor. As per the UGC Regulations also, the Visitor/Chancellor shall appoint the Vice Chancellor out of the panel of names recommended by the Search Committee.”

This judgement became a matter of contention between the Governor and the CPI (M)-led government.

Reactions from different political parties

The ruling CPI (M) leadership reacted strongly to the directions of the Governor and termed it as a ploy to recruit RSS members at the helm of the universities. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan while speaking to the media said that such decision is ‘unheard of’.

Noting that it is an effort to recruit VCs from the backdoor, he added, “It is a political agenda and will be countered by the state of Kerala.” He said that there is power and authority (in the Governor) to take certain decisions, but it has to be done as per the Constitution and added that things have reached “a level of madness”.

Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu pointed out that it is example of a country falling prey to fascist forces. She also termed it as an attempt to “chain or control the Government”.

However, taking a dig at the ruling CPI (M) government and its alleged corruption leader of the opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that earlier such corruptions were happening when the state government and the Governor were working together. He noted that the opposition has been claiming actions against the violation of UGC rules in the appointments of the VCs for months.

Commending the Governor’s ‘belated’ action, he said in a FB post, “We welcome the fact that the Governor is now ready to correct the mistake he made, even if its belated.”

It has been an old strategy of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to corner the CPI (M) led government over the charges of corruption and alliance with the BJP. To distant itself from the BJP and to gain political mileage against CPI (M), the experts note, this is not a very useful way. To portray CPI (M) as an ally of BJP may be counterproductive as the conflicts between them in the streets and the files display an otherwise image.