Farmers Movement Archive

Don’t force govt’s hand, Kanam tells Khan

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran accused governor Arif Mohammed Khan of making public the secret correspondence between him and the government and said that the governor should not force the LDF government to strip him of the chancellor’s post. “The chancellor post is a position given by the state assembly to the governor; the assembly is always at liberty to take the same back. The governor should not compel the government to do that,” Rajendran told reporters here on Monday. “I am the representative of a party, which has an opinion that the governor post is unwarranted. We have foresight when it comes to the behaviour of governors,” he said. Kanam said Khan had exhibited similar inflexibilities on matters concerning CAA and farm laws, but without yielding a result. “But where did his obstinacy take him to? He first refused to convene the house that was supposed to discuss farm laws. But, later he agreed to convene the session and addressed the house,” Rajendran said. The CPI leader said there was nothing wrong in the governor having an opinion that is different from that of the government. But the problem begins when attempts are made to hog the limelight through the media. “The chief minister was forced to respond to his charges openly when the government failed to keep the correspondence between him and the CM secret. If the governor has some doubts, it will naturally end with an explanation from the government,” he said. Seconding the arguments placed by Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday, Rajendran said all the appointments of vice-chancellors were done as per rules. Search committees are set up as per UGC norms and the governor is supposed to take a decision when the panel recommends names. “Here the governor is speaking ill of a decision he himself had taken,” he added. On Monday, CPI’s mouthpiece Janayugom published an editorial criticizing the governor for lowering the stature of his position. The editorial said the governor failed in substantiating his points against the government on earlier occasions. He also failed in garnering public support, it said. Meanwhile, SFI too has come out in support of the state government. SFI national president VP Sanu said the government should not plead before the governor if he is adamant on relinquishing the chancellor’s post. “If he wants to relinquish the post, let him do it. Let the chief minister take over that post. Who is so particular that only the governor should hold the chancellor position? There is no need to ask him to stay back,” he said, adding that If Khan is not ready to hold the position, let the state assembly explore other possible options.

The Times of India

2021-12-14

Thiruvananthapuram