SC order quashing Kannur University Vice Chancellor’s reappointment comes as a stinging setback for Kerala govt.
The Hindu
Supreme court slams Kerala government for “unwarranted interference” in Kannur university vice chancellor reappointment; Governor, Opposition accuse chief minister pinarayi vijayan of “pressuring” arif mohammad Khan to reappoint Gopinath Ravindran; Congress hails verdict as “moral victory”; R Bindu says government will abide by SC order.
The Supreme Court’s order on November 30 (Thursday) rescinding the contentious reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Vice Chancellor of Kannur University after his tenure ended in 2021 seemed to have come as an arguably stinging setback for the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
For one, it has rendered the government vulnerable to barbed criticism from Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition as the Cabinet pushed ahead with its high-profile Statewide public outreach programme Navakerala Sadas.
Mr. Khan termed the apex court verdict that slammed the Kerala government for “unwarranted interference” with the Chancellor’s prerogative to appoint vice chancellors “scathing”.
Mr. Khan said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State’s Advocate General (AG) “illegally lobbied” for Mr. Ravindran’s reappointment in violation of University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.
He said the “CM and AG” should now address the moral dilemma of quitting or remaining in their respective offices.
Mr. Khan said he was not “suggesting” any particular course of action for the Chief Minister and the AG. He said he left it to them to take a call on Constitutional, political and moral propriety grounds.
“The moral arc (of justice) might be long, but karma will ultimately haunt you. There is no escape from the consequences of karma”, Mr. Khan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.