Kocchi: The Kerala government on Thursday removed Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam deemed university amid a huge row with the Pinarayi Vijayan-headed dispensation over the functioning of universities, including appointments of Vice Chancellors.
The move comes after the LDF government earlier in the day amended the rules of the deemed-to-be university to remove Khan as its chancellor. The position would now be filled with an eminent person from the field of Art and Culture, appointed by the sponsoring body. According to the rules, the Kerala government is the sponsoring body of the university.
Khan’s removal comes amidst a massive face-off with the government over appointments of Vice Chancellors and its announcement that it will come out with an ordinance to replace him as chancellor of state universities.
Earlier in the day, Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindhu said that the state government would convene an Assembly session next month and bring out legislation if Khan was not prepared to sign the ordinance stripping him of the role of chancellor of universities.
The government had on Wednesday decided to come out with an ordinance to replace the Governor as chancellor of universities and appoint eminent academicians instead — a move which was opposed by both the Congress and BJP.
