Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has defended his decision to constitute a search committee for the next Vice Chancellor of Kerala University without consulting the State government.
Opening a new confrontation with the government, Mr. Khan sought explanation from the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University on the politically sensitive appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister’s private secretary K.K. Ragesh, as associate professor in Malayalam.
The Governor maintained that he had adhered to the prescribed law while initiating the selection process for the Kerala University Vice Chancellor. “The Act of the university requires that a selection committee be constituted three months before the term of the Vice Chancellor comes to an end. The current [Vice Chancellor’s] term is ending in October and we have less than three months. We wrote to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the university to propose their nominees as per the law,” he said, while interacting with mediapersons in New Delhi on Saturday.
