The relationship between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the State government has entered yet another thorny phase over differences in opinion on the bounds of the Chancellor’s role in the functioning of universities. The tussle has been in the making for nearly a year after the Governor confronted the government over the University of Kerala’s refusal to confer honorary doctorate on former President Ram Nath Kovind. The reappointment of the Vice Chancellor of Kannur University had also annoyed him. These instances prompted him to declare his unwillingness to continue as Chancellor of universities.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had led the government’s rapprochement efforts earlier after the Governor reportedly withheld his assent to the policy address on the eve of the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly. Nevertheless, the government has quietly endorsed the growing clamour of some States, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha, to work towards trimming the powers of the Chancellor over universities in order for the government to gain greater control.
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