The Leader of Opposition said the financial implication of having 14 chancellors would turn into a "white elephant".
Published Dec 13, 2022 | 4:24 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 13, 2022 | 4:50 PM
Arif Mohammed Khan with AN Shamseer, Speaker of Kerala Legistative Assembly. (KeralaGovernor/Twitter)
The Congress-led UDF Opposition on Tuesday, 12 December, said that it was not opposed to the removal of the Governor as Chancellor of universities in the state, but there was no need for separate chancellors for each of the 14 varsities.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly VD Satheesan said that the UDF, after discussions, has come to a decision that there need be only one Chancellor and can be selected from amongst retired Supreme Court judges and former Kerala High Court chief justices.
The Chancellor can be selected by a panel comprising the chief minister, LoP and the Kerala HC chief justice, Satheesan said.
“This is our alternative proposal with regard to who should be the Chancellor and the procedure to be followed for the same,” he said.
The LoP said the financial implication of having 14 chancellors would turn into a “white elephant”.
“Let there be only one Chancellor,” he suggested and was supported by IUML leader and MLA PK Kunhalikutty with the latter also saying “there is no doubt that the Governor has to be removed as Chancellor”.
“We are not at all in agreement with the recent conduct or actions of the governor,” Kunhalikutty said, adding that no one can be allowed to behave as a government over the elected administration.
The opposition’s suggestion or alternative was submitted in the House during discussions on the University Laws (Amendment) Bills, which aim to replace the Governor as the Chancellor of universities in the state and appoint eminent academicians to the top post.
(Disclaimer: Only the headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed)
