Arif Mohammed Khan, the governor of Kerala, slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his appointments of Chancellors in universities, and said universities should be free from political interference and autonomy must be respected.
In a letter to Vijayan, the governor has expressed displeasure over political appointments in the state's universities and urged him to amend the acts of the universities and take over as chancellor.
"I do not want conflict with the government. If the Kerala government is taking the decision of appointing the chancellors of the colleges, then the decision should be taken by the government itself without including me." Said Khan.
The governor further informed, "I have already written to the Pinaya Vijayan government advising him to amend acts of the universities so that he can personally assume the position of the chancellor and carry out his political objectives without any dependence on the governor. This is not my constitutional duty."
Adding that academic decisions should be taken by academicians, Khan said, "I asked the government to bring an ordinance where the university's chancellor can be the chief minister or education minister, but I cannot do this. Government can easily run universities under the education department, but universities should be free from any political interference."
In the letter to the CM, Khan said, "The existing scene today is that the authorities of the universities are packed with political nominees, and non-academics are taking academic decisions."
