Governor Arif Mohammed Khan appeared to signal the possibility of a detente with the government over the promulgation of two Ordinances that aim at increasing the penalty for hazardous dumping of waste by modifying the provisions of the municipalities and panchayat Act.
However, while appearing to hold out an olive branch to the government, Mr. Khan added a rider. He demanded that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stop using the media as a sounding board and communicate with the Governor directly.
The conditions
Mr. Khan disputed news reports that he was sitting on the Ordinances. “Raj Bhavan received the Ordinances only two-and-a-half weeks ago. I request that the Chief Minister (Pinarayi Vijayan) not communicate with me through the media. I am inviting him cordially to come to Raj Bhavan and explain the urgency regarding any Ordinance or Bill in person. I will examine the government’s rationale without any bias and decide based on the case’s merit,” Mr. Khan said.
Mr. Khan tempered his invitation to Mr. Vijayan with another proviso. “At the same time, the Chief Minister should tell his supporters to desist from thrashing the Constitution. They should not refer to Kashmir as Azad Kashmir as portrayed by insurrectionists. His supporters should stop stoking the fires of regionalism and separatism. Such theorising poses a threat to the unity and integrity of the country,” Mr. Khan said.
V-Cs’ appointment
Mr. Khan said he, as Chancellor of State-funded universities, had set in motion the process to appoint permanent Vice-Chancellors in various varsities. He said he was painfully aware that some Vice-Chancellor posts were vacant while persons on deputation staffed others.
He blamed the government for retarding the momentum of the process by arm-twisting university Syndicates into not cooperating with the search and selection committees. Mr. Khan said he also needed to get the panel of candidates from the University Grants Commission and Syndicates of various varsities before taking a final decision.
He said he had erred by bowing to the government’s “unwarranted interference” with the Chancellor’s prerogative to appoint Vice-Chancellors.
‘Wrong opinion’
Mr. Khan said he was against the contentious reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University in 2021. “The Chief Minister despatched his officer on special duty and personal legal adviser to Raj Bhavan nine times to plead his nominee’s case. I referred the matter to the Advocate General, who gave me the wrong opinion.”
Mr. Khan said he would only make the same mistake once. “I am always open to advice, not pressure. I am nobody’s rubber stamp,” he said.
