University Chancellor row | Kerala Governor says no government can go against national consensus

Talking about the controversy surrounding his post of Chancellor, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan alleged the State government has become ‘a government for çadre people’.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said that he holds the office of Chancellor following a national consensus and a report from a National Commission and no State government can go against it.

Interacting with media persons in Kochi on Monday, Mr. Khan said that Governors used to hold the office of the Chancellor even before the formation of Kerala State. The Kerala government, which was upset by the recent court verdicts in the appointments of Vice Chancellors, was trying to cover up its embarrassment, he alleged.

Mr. Khan said that the State government has become the government for “cadre people.”

Cadres are being appointed to various posts right from the universities to Corporation offices. The governments are supposed to work for the people and not its cadre. However, this has become a government that works only for its cadre, he alleged.

Referring to the controversial selection of Priya Varghese, the wife of K.K. Ragesh, the private secretary of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for the post of Associate Professor at Kannur University, Mr. Khan said the Chief Minister would be considered incompetent if he didn’t know about someone sitting in his office and directing the Vice Chancellor to appoint his relative. If the Chief Minister was aware of it, he was equally guilty of appointing an ineligible person to the post, he said.

Mr. Khan further added that the Governor was appointed as the Chancellor of the universities to ensure that the institutions were free from the interference of the executive. The job of the Chancellor is to assure that no favouritism and nepotism are allowed in the universities and the law of the land is upheld.