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Business News/ News / University Laws Amendment Bill seeks to appoint CM Vijayan’s relatives, won’t allow it: Kerala Guv
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University Laws Amendment Bill seeks to appoint CM Vijayan’s relatives, won’t allow it: Kerala Guv

The Kerala Governor has alleged that the University Laws Amendment Bill would pave way for the appointment of the ‘unqualified relatives’ of CM

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan (HT_PRINT)Premium
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan (HT_PRINT)

Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan alleged on Thursday that the University Laws Amendment Bill seeks to pave way for the appointment of the “unqualified relatives" of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet members. The Kerala Governor also said that the Bill seeks to legalise the illegalities. The University Laws Amendment Bill was recently passed by the state Assembly.

The Kerala Governor also said that he cannot be “used" as a rubber stamp. Arif Mohammed Khan also indicated that he was against the Lok Ayukta Amendment Bill, also passed by the Assembly recently, saying no one can be a judge in his own cause.

Speaking to the media, Arif Mohammed Khan said, “I cannot allow a mechanism to be adopted whereby it can be used to appoint unqualified and underqualified relatives of those in power, relatives of the personal staff of the Chief Minister and other ministers, on the rolls of the universities."

Recently, a row broke out over the alleged attempt to appoint the wife of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's personal secretary in the Malayalam department at Kannur University. The woman was said to have scored the lowest research score in the interview but the highest in the interview round. She was also declared first in the selection process.

Despite stiff opposition from UDF members and their subsequent boycott, the Kerala Assembly on August 30 and September 1 passed the controversial Lok Ayukta (Amendment) and University Laws Amendment Bills, respectively.

The Kerala Governor said through the University Laws Amendment Bill, the government was trying to legalise all the illegalities.

"I had said earlier I will give up my Chancellor position. But you want to do everything and me to sign it. That is not possible. Through this bill they are trying to legalise all the illegalities. This I will not allow," Khan said, adding, “But if I am the Chancellor, I am not going to be used as a rubber stamp. I make it very clear to everybody. I am not a rubber stamp."

Arif Mohammed Khan said, “I shall apply my mind, my own judgment, my vision and then I will decide in accordance with the Constitution, law and convention. But they (government) are breaking the conventions."

The Kerala Governor also said that if he was going to be the Chancellor, he would ensure there was no government interference in the universities.

"I shall not allow the autonomy of the universities to be diluted. I shall not allow executive interference in the universities. That means the government taking power of making appointments in its own hands is not possible. That will result in erosion of autonomy. Autonomy of universities is a sacred concept," the Governor said.

(With agency inputs)

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Published: 15 Sep 2022, 04:59 PM IST
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