Govt. will decide on removal of Governor from Chancellor’s position, says M.V. Govindan

CPI(M) will legally and constitutionally resist Governor’s attempt to implement RSS agenda in universities, says CPI(M) State secretary

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government would explore options on removal of the Governor from the Chancellor’s position, CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan has said. The government and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] will fight legally as well as constitutionally Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s ‘attempts to implement the Sangh Parivar’s agenda in universities in Kerala, he said at a press conference after chairing a three-day conclave of the party State leadership at the AKG Centre here.

“The RSS-BJP combine is attempting to destroy the democratic values and secular nature of Kerala’s universities and create communal polarisation through the Governor’s repeated interventions at a time when the LDF government is forging ahead with a plan to create a knowledge economy. The CPI(M) State committee has decided to resist these moves constitutionally and legally, while at the same time politically exposing these moves. We will go to any extent to resist these attempts,” he said.

Mr. Govindan said that the ongoing Statewide campaign of the LDF to protect the higher education sector will aim at effectively conveying all these issues to the people. The LDF would organise house visits, campus protests, and district conventions on the issue, culminating with a march of one lakh people to Raj Bhavan, which will be inaugurated by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. Also present would be Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva from Tamil Nadu, where too the government was at loggerheads with the Governor.

He accused the Congress of helping the BJP implement its agenda in the State as part of a wider common platform, which also includes communal forces. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had been siding with the Governor at a time when the Congress central leadership was strongly opposing the ongoing attacks against non-BJP State governments. Senior leaders including P. Chidambaram, K.C. Venugopal and K. Muraleedharan had also taken views divergent from the KPCC president.

Regarding Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent comments on State borrowings and expenditure, he said that the Union government was attempting to torpedo the State government’s welfare measures and people-friendly initiatives, which are being implemented despite the limitations imposed by the Centre.

The party conclave also discussed a document laying out the interventions required in the field of culture to counter the apolitical trends in the field of culture as well as to take up campaigns against attempts at communal polarisation and spread of superstitious practices. The party has also taken a serious view of the growth of identity politics, he said.