Kerala: 'Ready To Resign,' Says Governor Khan, If Allegations By CM Vijayan On Appointment Of VCs Can Be Proved

Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that he was willing to resign if Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could prove his repeated allegations that the Governor was interfering in the matter of appointment of Vice Chancellors (VCs) to state universities.

He also asked whether the Chief Minister would resign, if he could not prove his allegations of interference.

The latest round of allegations was made by Vijayan while he was speaking at a convention organised by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to 'protect the higher education sector.'

CM Vijayan said that Khan was running a parallel government in the state with the objective of 'saffronising' higher education by bringing in VCs close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Left parties plan to organise campus protests, house visits and district conventions in protest against Khan's interference. The protest would culminate with a march to Raj Bhavan.

Governor Khan said that he has not interfered in the functioning of the government till now but having seen that gold smuggling activities and recommendations of close relatives for appointments to posts in universities are coming from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he will be forced to interfere in these issues from now on.

In August 2022, Khan had stayed the appointment of the wife of the Chief Minister’s Private Secretary KK Rajesh— Priya Varghese as Associate Professor in Kannur University after widespread allegations of nepotism.

This comes at a time when some of the affected VC’s have challenged the validity of the showcause notices issued by Khan. The High Court extended the time given to the VC’s to file their responses till 7 November.

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