Thiruvananthapuram: For the second time, the Kerala University senate has passed a resolution against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of the university. Friday’s resolution was supported by 50 senate members and opposed by seven.
According to the senate, the Governor had violated rules in setting up a two-member search committee to appoint a new vice-chancellor. The resolution also demanded that the Governor should withdraw his notification on the search committee. The senate’s representative to the committee needs to be selected only after the Governor makes such a move, said the resolution.
Fifteen senate members who were expelled by the Governor, including two syndicate representatives belonging to the CPM, did not take part in Friday’s meeting.
Earlier, during a senate meeting in August, a resolution had been passed which said that the formation of the search committee unilaterally by the Governor was a violation of the university rules and that the committee should be disbanded. Even though the vice-chancellor had sent this resolution to the Governor, he did not respond. Subsequently, the senate passed another resolution on Friday.
Pro-Left politicians had pointed out that withdrawing the first resolution by the senate would be considered as surrender by the state government before Khan in its tussle with him and also prove a political setback for the CPM.
Incidentally, the Kerala High Court had recently rapped the senate for passing a resolution against the Chancellor and delaying the election of its representative to the search committee for a new vice-chancellor.
Curiously, the agenda of Friday’s senate meeting did not include the election of its representative to the search committee even when Higher Education Minister R Bindu had earlier made an announcement in this regard. According to senate members, choosing a representative without withdrawing the resolution passed in August could invite legal action.
