THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan reiterated his stand that the decision to reappoint historian Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur University vice-chancellor was forced upon him by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), though he had pointed out “illegalities”.
When he resisted Ravindran’s reappointment and questioned its legality, the CMO stood firm on its demand and he was forced to capitulate when the CM’s legal advisor and officer on special duty produced the advocate general’s legal opinion favouring the reappointment, said Khan, reacting to the Supreme Court order that quashed the reappointment.
Khan downplayed the interventions of higher education minister R Bindu, saying that she was used as a tool and the real pressure came from the CMO. Khan said CM Pinarayi Vijayan had placed the demand (reappointment of Ravindran) before him once and that he had agreed to give due weightage to the CM’s request during the course of the selection process. Later, the CMO wanted Raj Bhavan to abandon the selection process and consider Ravindran’s reappointment.
“I was fully aware of the illegality involved in the reappointment and I knew they would make more such illegal demands in future. That’s why I immediately wrote a letter to the CM, expressing my wish to relinquish the position of the university chancellor,” Khan said, adding that Bindu was a tool in the hands of CMO and the minister being the pro-chancellor of the university, kept contact with the chancellor on university matters.
Khan, however, said he did not wish to seek the resignation of the CM on account of the apex court verdict.
When he resisted Ravindran’s reappointment and questioned its legality, the CMO stood firm on its demand and he was forced to capitulate when the CM’s legal advisor and officer on special duty produced the advocate general’s legal opinion favouring the reappointment, said Khan, reacting to the Supreme Court order that quashed the reappointment.
Khan downplayed the interventions of higher education minister R Bindu, saying that she was used as a tool and the real pressure came from the CMO. Khan said CM Pinarayi Vijayan had placed the demand (reappointment of Ravindran) before him once and that he had agreed to give due weightage to the CM’s request during the course of the selection process. Later, the CMO wanted Raj Bhavan to abandon the selection process and consider Ravindran’s reappointment.
“I was fully aware of the illegality involved in the reappointment and I knew they would make more such illegal demands in future. That’s why I immediately wrote a letter to the CM, expressing my wish to relinquish the position of the university chancellor,” Khan said, adding that Bindu was a tool in the hands of CMO and the minister being the pro-chancellor of the university, kept contact with the chancellor on university matters.
Khan, however, said he did not wish to seek the resignation of the CM on account of the apex court verdict.