Left reproaches Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for calling Kannur University VC a 'criminal'

Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) in Kerala and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by it on Sunday came down hard on Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for calling Kannur University’s Vice-Chancellor (VC) a “criminal” and termed it “highly objectionable”.

The Congress and BJP, on the other hand, sought a probe into Khan’s claims that there was a conspiracy to “attack” him in December 2019 when he visited the varsity for the Indian History Congress.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly VD Satheesan, as well as BJP state president K Surendran, said that there should be an investigation by a team of senior police officials into the Governor’s claim of an alleged conspiracy to attack him.

They were responding to the Governor’s reference, earlier in the day, to the alleged heckling he faced when he went to inaugurate the Indian History Congress hosted by Kannur University in December 2019. As the Governor was about to address, most of the delegates assembled for the event rose, voicing their protest against his stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was a burning issue then.

“He was part of the conspiracy to hurt me physically. He is a criminal. He is sitting as VC because of political reasons. I was invited there by the VC. What was his duty when I was attacked? Was he not supposed to report it to the police? He did not do so,” the governor said while talking to reporters on Sunday.

The CPI(M) state secretariat and the LDF, in separate statements, said that calling Kannur VC Gopinath Raveendran a criminal was “highly objectionable” and alleged that the Governor’s remarks were not in consonance with the Constitutional position he holds.

The CPI(M) said that Khan should clarify what crime has been committed by the VC, as the latter only communicated his disagreement, as per the rules, with regard to the decisions of the Governor.

“Khan, on the other hand, without responding politely and as per the rules, replied in a manner which did not suit the office he holds and therefore, he should introspect on the same,” it said.

LDF convener EP Jayarajan also spoke along similar lines when he alleged that there has been misuse of the Governor’s office and Raj Bhavan by Khan looking at his “criminal” remark against the VC.

Jayarajan also termed as ‘baseless’ the Governor’s allegation that the Kannur VC was behaving like a party cadre.

However, both CPI(M) and LDF remained silent with regard to Khan’s claims that there was a conspiracy to “attack” him when he visited the varsity in 2019.

LoP and Congress leader Satheesan told media persons at Thiruvananthapuram that if the Governor has made such an allegation, the state government has a responsibility to investigate it, while Surendran said there should be a special investigation team to probe the matter.

The BJP leader, speaking to reporters here, also alleged that the police did not investigate the matter despite a complaint being made and claimed that the state government’s stand appears to be that even if the Governor is harmed, they will not file a case.

Khan called the Kannur VC a “criminal” for not taking any action or lodging a complaint with police over the alleged heckling or attempt to attack him.

The Governor’s words and actions, for allegedly pleasing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the central government, are embarrassing the state and are contrary to the position he holds, the LDF convener said in his statement.

The ruling party also claimed that the Governor was attempting to devalue the state’s achievements in higher education as it was only due to the CPI(M) government’s intervention that the colleges and universities here were able to show marked improvement in various rankings and accreditations.

The Left party, in its statement, said that the Governor’s conduct shows that he does not deserve the respect shown to him by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan when he said last year that Khan should continue as Chancellor in order to lead and guide the government and universities to push higher education in the state to greater heights.

On the education aspect, Satheesan and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran alleged that the quality of higher education in the state has been destroyed by the ruling Left government.

They both also said that the Governor should order a probe into the alleged appointments of CPI(M) relatives in varsities over the last six years and a letter requesting the same would be sent to him.

Sudhakaran also welcomed Khan’s decision to stay the Kannur University’s move to appoint Priya Varghese, wife of former Rajya Sabha MP KK Ragesh, as Malayalam Associate Professor at Kannur University.

Satheesan, meanwhile, said that if Vijayan continues to remain silent on the appointment issue, it would be assumed it was done with his knowledge.

Sudhakaran said the Governor will have all the support of Congress for maintaining the credibility and autonomy of the universities.

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