Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has severely criticised the State Government’s move to appoint a search committee to find a new vice-chancellor for the Malayalam University.
Sharpening his tone against the LDF ministry in the VC appointment issue, Khan has noted that the government did not provide a representative when the search committee was formed with the UGC representative. After the government formed its search committee to find the new VC, the higher education secretary wrote twice to Raj Bhavan requesting to nominate Governor’s representative to it.
In a letter to the government, Khan questioned the rationale of appointing a search committee on its own. “Based on which law did the government appoint its search committee? And how can the government ask the Raj Bhavan to nominate a member to such a panel?” Khan asked in the letter. The letter is written by the Raj Bhavan secretary at the governor’s direction.
Earlier, the assembly had passed a bill curtailing the governor’s right to appoint the vice-chancellor of a state university. Though the government has sent the bill to Raj Bhavan for the governor’s approval, Khan has not yet signed on the dotted lines. Hence the bill has no legal validity. This is why Khan is now questioning the legality of the latest move to appoint a search committee.
