Satheesan asks Shaija Andavan to quit her post

Leader of the Opposition demands resignation of NIT-C Dean for praising Gandhi's assassin, sparking protests and political backlash.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has demanded that Shaija Andavan, who was recently appointed as the Dean of Faculty at the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C), resign from her post voluntarily. A police case has been registered against her for allegedly praising Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, in a social media post.

Mr. Satheesan was opening a day-long fast undertaken by M.K. Raghavan, Kozhikode MP, on Saturday (April 5, 2025) outside the NIT-C campus at Chathamangalam in protest against her appointment.

Mr. Satheesan pointed out that Ms. Andavan should have been dismissed from service for her social media post praising the murderer of the Father of the Nation. However, the Union government, under which the NIT-C functions, chose to honour her by assigning her more responsibilities. There would be serious consequences if she did not step down voluntarily or was not removed by higher authorities, he said. District Congress Committee president K. Praveenkumar and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA M.K. Muneer were present.

E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP, inaugurated the valedictory event in the evening. Mr. Raghavan said there was no surprise in Ms. Andavan’s appointment as the ruling establishment in the country was using every opportunity to undermine Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.