Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan accused Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan of endeavouring to hammer out an illicit political alliance”“ between the Sangh Parivar and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to gain control of State-funded universities in an allegedly underhand manner.
At a press conference, Mr Govindan said Mr. Khan, as the Chancellor of State universities, “coordinated” the political plot.
He accused Mr. Khan of using his nomination powers to stack the governing bodies of State universities with right-wing figures.
Mr. Govindan alleged Mr. Khan had revealed his hand by “disregarding” the panel of Senate nominees submitted by the Vice Chancellor of Calicut University to insert people of his choice into the institution’s apex decision-making body.
He said the Governor’s “questionable” choices included a national leader of the Muslim Youth League, an affiliate of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Akhila Bharata Vidyarthi Parishad activists, and people with Congress leanings.
“A person nominated from the Industries sector is a pro-UDF person and former varsity employing fighting corruption charges. Another nominated in the journalist category has not seen the inside of a media organisation or practised the profession,” Mr. Govindan said.
Mr. Govindan called Mr. Khan’s actions “norm-breaking, anti-democratic and against the statutes of State-funded universities”. He said the Sangh Parivar subverted the gubernatorial office to thwart the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s bid to use the State’s storied higher education sector as the main driver to transform Kerala into a knowledge economy.
He said the Congress was looking increasingly isolated in the UDF. the IUML had rejected the Congress’s bid to disrupt the Cabinet’s public outreach programme, Navakerala Sadas.
Mr. Govindan slammed Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan for allegedly employing a toxic cocktail of abuse and lies to vilify Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan obsessively. “Mr. Satheesan repeatedly called Mr. Vijayan a criminal. His party compatriot disparaged Mr. Vijayan’s father,” he said.
He accused the corporate media of demonising Mr. Vijayan by parroting Mr. Satheesan’s “abuse and lies”. He said the CPI(M) weighed boycotting television news channel discussions.
