Arif: Will not allow nepotism in varsity appointments
Kerala Governor says job is to ensure that the law of the land is upheld
The tussle between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the Pinarayi Vijayan government continued yesterday as the former said he would not allow favouritism and nepotism in appointments in state universities.
Talking to the media in Kochi yesterday, the governor said: “It is my duty to ensure that appointments on basis of favouritism and nepotism are not allowed. As long as I am here, I will not allow that. Only people who are qualified, and meet all the requirements of the UGC will be appointed.”
The governor further said: “If somebody sitting in CM’s office is directing VC [Vice Chancellor] to appoint his relatives and if the CM doesn’t know about it, shows how incompetent he is. If he knows about it, then he is equally guilty.” The leadership will have to take moral responsibility, he added.
“I have said again and again that I am not looking for personal vindication,” he added.
“There is no personal fight with anybody. My job is to ensure that the law of the land is upheld. My job is to see that the Universities are free from executive interference,” he added.
Earlier on November 15, he alleged that all appointments in the state-run universities are “illegal” while adding that the universities have “become fiefdoms of the party cadre”.
“Why don’t you raise the issue that until last year Kerala had 13 universities and all appointments are illegal? Is there any other state where 100 per cent of appointments have been done in violation of the law? Universities have become fiefdoms of the party cadre and their relatives,” the Governor had alleged.