In an extraordinary move, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, in his capacity as Chancellor of the universities in the state,  has on Sunday asked the vice-chancellors of nine universities in the state to resign from their posts before 11.30 am on Monday.

The unprecedented action of the Governor was based on the recent Supreme Court order which quashed the appointment of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Vice Chancellor Dr. Rajasree M S, for non-compliance with the UGC rules.

The apex court had on 21 October quashed the appointment of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Vice Chancellor Dr. Rajasree M S, observing that as per the University Grants Commission(UGC) rules, the search committee constituted by the state should have recommended a panel of not less than three suitable persons among eminent people in the field of engineering science to the chancellor but instead, it sent only one name.

The apex court had held that if a state law came into conflict with a central law, in this case, the UGC regulations, the central law would prevail.

Vice-Chancellors of the University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kannur University, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, University of  Calicut, Thunachath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University have been asked to resign from the post by Monday morning

These include Kerala University vice-chancellor V P Mahadevan Pillai, who  completes his term on 24 October, and A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University vice-chancellor  M S Rajashree, whose  appointment had been quashed by the Supreme Court

Sources in the Governor’s office said that the appointment of the vice-chancellor in all these  universities has been made violating UGC regulations

The PRO of Raj Bhavan, in a tweet, said “Upholding the verdict of Hon’ble SupremeCourt dt 21.10.22 in Civil Appeal Nos.7634-7635 of 2022(@ SLP(c)Nos.21108-21109 of 2021) Hon’ble Governor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan has directed Vice Chancellors of 9 varsities in Kerala(see image) to tender resignation.”

The Governor’s diktat comes minutes after the LDF announced a series of mass agitations against him. The CPI-M has come out against the move of the Governor. Calling the action of the Governor undemocratic, the CPI-M state secretariat said the Governor is implementing the agendas of the RSS.

Earlier, the ruling Left Democratic  Front(LDF) decided to go on a massive offensive against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for his alleged interference in the affairs of the universities of the state as the Chancellor and his recent statement that  he would not hesitate to  remove the ministers  from their positions if the individual ministers continue to lower the dignity of the office of the Governor

The LDF state committee which met here on Sunday decided to stage a protest in front of the Raj Bhavan on  15 November. The LDF leaders said  Protests  against the Governor will also be held in various centers of the state

CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan said a state-level convention will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on 2 November. Simultaneously, district-level and campus-level conventions will also be held. Govindan said. The district conventions would be completed by  10 November  and campus conventions by  12 November