Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan on Thursday has given indication that he would send the bill that seeks to remove the Governor from the post of chancellor of the universities in the state to the president of India for consideration.
Speaking to media persons here on Thursday, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said let those superior to him decide on the Bill that seeks to remove the governor from the post of chancellor of the universities in the state, as it affects him too.
“Let my superiors decide on the bill, as it affects me too,” the Governor said.
The Governor has given assent to all the 16 bills other than the University Laws (Amendment) Bill that seeks to remove the Governor from the post of chancellor of State universities, passed by the state Assembly in its last session, which were sent to the Raj Bhavan.
Governor Khan had recently sought the opinion of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the legality of the Bill passed by the Kerala Assembly, and whether such a law would run counter to the UGC’s norms.He had also sought the legal opinion of the Raj Bhavan’s standing counsel in the High Court on how to proceed in the case of the university Bill.
After getting legal advice, the Chancellor is likely to send the bill to the President of India for consideration.
The Kerala Assembly on 13 December passed the University Laws (Amendment) Bill,2022 that amends laws relating to the governance of state universities and removes the Governor as the Chancellor of universities in the state.
The Bill seeks to amend eight Acts relating to different universities to remove the Governor as the ex-officio Chancellor of the universities and to empower the state government to appoint a Chancellor. It was passed by the Assembly to curtail the governor’s powers from the VC Selection Committee but has also not been approved by the Governor.
The bill has been pending with the Raj Bhavan since August 2022. The bill, passed by the Assembly, proposes to effectively give the government the right to select vice-chancellors in the universities in the state.
Apart from the university bills, the Governor has not approved the Lokayukta amendment Bill, which curtails the powers of the anti-corruption body, passed by the Assembly in August.
Meanwhile, the cabinet meeting held on Thursday had decided to invite the Governor to make the policy announcement speech at the Assembly. The Assembly session will begin on 23 January with the governor’s policy announcement speech.
The Governor said that the government’s decision to announce the policy was welcome and said that he had never interfered in the running of the government.