PALAKKAD: The governor is the appointing authority in all the nine universities and if the VC appointments were against rules, then the primary responsibility lies with the governor. As per his logic, are the VCs who should resign from the post, the chief minister asked while addressing the media in Palakkad.

The chief minister said the governor’s action in asking the vice chancellors of all the nine universities of the state to resign was unnaturally hasty. ‘The governor who is also the chancellor is forgetting the basic principles of law and justice. The tweet demanding resignation was part of this. He is misusing his chancellor post to use the power he does not have. This is unconstitutional and negates the dignity of democracy,’ the chief minister said.

‘This is an encroachment on the power of the democratically elected government and universities, which are supposed to operate with academic freedom. Those who respect democracy cannot accept such overbearing tendencies. The governor’s post is not meant to put the state government on the defensive and in crisis. The powers and duties given by the constitution are to protect the dignity of the state, the people and the constitution. The governor asked the nine VCs to resign under the guise of the Supreme Court verdict regarding the appointment of the KTU vice chancellor. He is working as the leader of the Sangh Parivar. He is waging a war against universities. There are political objectives behind this,’ criticised the chief minister.

The Supreme Court judgment does not say that KTU VC does not have academic status. The chief minister said that only the procedural problem was pointed out and there is a chance to file a review petition in the verdict.