Kerala govt to float ordinance for removal of Governor as varsities' chancellor

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 9

The Kerala cabinet, on Wednesday, decided to bring in an Ordinance to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the chancellor of Universities in the state.

For long, the two leaders have been engaged in a tussle that started with Khan objecting to the appointment of Vijayan's private secretary K.K.Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese at the Kannur University.

The Kerala High Court also stayed the appointment till the case gets finally disposed of.

Since then, the tiff between the two stalwarts have intensified. The cabinet's decision to float the Ordinance has stemmed from it.

But, with Khan being in no mood to relent, it remains to be seen how he handles the situation. The two Bills sent to him after a hurriedly called special session in September, along with a few others, continue to lie on his table.

According to sources in the know of things, one of the reasons why the Vijayan government decided to bring out an Ordinance is, not long ago, when the tiff started, an angry Khan had mentioned that he is least particular that he should be the chancellor and said if an Ordinance/Bill is brought out, he will happily sign it.

Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan, on hearing about the Ordinance, said under no circumstances will the Congress-led Opposition be a party to it.

"This cannot happen in Kerala because if this becomes law, then all the appointments including that of vice-chancellor, staff will be made from the CPI-M state party headquarters," he added.

Incidentally, this is the first time that such a law is being moved after Kerala was formed in 1956, when the Assembly through a Bill appointed the governor as the chancellor of Universities in the state.

There are 14 Universities where the governor is the chancellor.