War over varsity: Kerala Governor removed from chancellor’s post, not the first

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was removed from the post of chancellor of the Kerala Kalamandalam deemed to be University by the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. Announcing the change of rule, the state government said that it will now fill the position with an eminent person from the field of art and culture. The move comes a day after the Kerala government voted to bring in an ordinance to remove Arif Mohammed Khan from the post of chancellor of universities in Kerala. The official website of Kerala Kalamandalam has also removed Khan’s picture from the website hours after the ruling LDF government in the state issued an order amending the rules and regulations of deemed to be University. The amended rules of the Kerala Kalamandalam say that the governance system and management structure of the deemed university shall follow the decisions of the state government. Notably, the rule regarding the tenure of the chancellor was also amended, with the new one setting a five-year tenure with the possibility of a second term. Kerala Assembly passes Bill giving state government upper hand in selection of V-Cs The Kerala Assembly, few months back, had passed a bill - Kerala University Laws (Amendment) Bill, which give power to the state government in the selection of the vice chancellors. Also, the composition of the search-selection committee was amended to take away the existing authority for the Governor in appointing V-Cs. Opposition in Kerala to oppose LDF’s Bill Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan said that they are going to oppose a possible Bill by the LDF government to remove the Governor from the post of chancellor. Also Read: Kerala Cabinet votes to bring in ordinance to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as universities' chancellor Satheesan said that the move by the Kerala government was not well-intentioned and conspiratorial. He further alleged that the CPI(M) is aspiring to insert its favourites into the post of chancellor to take total control of the higher education sector to promote politically partisan interests, including nepotism in appointments. The opposition leader further claimed that the LDF has numbers and therefore confident that it will be able to get a Bill removing Khan as university chancellor passed in the Assembly. But the question that comes in the minds of people is whether the state government has the power to remove the Governor from the post of chancellor? Kerala not the first state to curtail Governor’s role in universities Kerala is not the first state to decide to pass a Bill to curtail the Governor’s role in state universities. In July this year, the West Bengal Assembly had passed a Bill to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister of the state as chancellor of all the universities in Bengal. The BJP opposed the Bill moved by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state. It is yet to receive a nod from the Governor. For the unversed, all the Bills that are passed in the state Assembly have to go to the respective Governor of the state to get the consent. As per reports, the Rajasthan government led by Congress’s Ashok Gehlot in July was considering bringing in legislation to give the Chief Minister the power to appoint chancellors for the 28 state-funded universities. The Bill further proposed that the Governor, who is at present the Chancellor, will become the Visitor of these universities. As per reports, the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh has also planned to remove the power of the Governor of appointing vice-chancellor in the state universities. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government is also reportedly considering removing Governor Banwarilal Purohit from the post of chancellor. Back in 2021, the Maharashtra government led by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray amended the appointment process in state universities to give the final say to the government. The Bill was, however, withdrawn by the Eknath Shinde-led government. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.