Right-wing outfit appeals Kerala govt not to remove Governor as Chancellor

A prominent Sangh Parivar outfit has urged the Kerala government to review its decision to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the Chancellor of universities in the state, and sought the intervention of Union Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC) in this regard.

Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram (BVK), in a recent resolution, said the higher education sector of the state has been ''ruined due to the political interventions'' of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

Deliberate attempts are underway to subvert the university and UGC criteria and statutory provisions for making appointments with political interests and nepotism to the posts of vice chancellors and academicians, it alleged.

The outfit's resolution was adopted at the recent annual state meet of BVK.

The resolution alleged that the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, recently passed by the state Assembly to remove the Governor as Chancellor and appoint eminent academicians in the top post, would destroy the autonomous powers of the varsities and turn them into mere government departments.

The BVK conference urged the government to withdraw from its alleged attempts to make universities as its political tools.

''The conference also sought the intervention of the Union Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission to persuade the state government to withdraw from this legislation which will erode the autonomous stature and freedom of the universities and destroy the quality standards of the higher education sector in the state,'' a BVK statement added.

The Kerala Assembly, on December 13, had passed the contentious University Laws (Amendment) Bill to replace the Governor as the Chancellor of universities in the State and appoint eminent academicians in the top post.

The Bill, which had undergone scrutiny by a Subject Committee of the House, was passed after hours long discussions during which the Congress-led UDF said it was not opposed to the removal of the Governor as Chancellor.

The Bill has been sent to Raj Bhavan for the Governor's assent.