Kerala state government hopeful of Governor's okay for Bill to amend university laws

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government, which is pushing a Bill to amend the university laws, sounded confident on Thursday that the Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who had earlier expressed reservation, would sign it once the legislative procedure gets over. Amid this, the Congress hit out against the Left government over the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and said it was an alleged move to illegally appoint the puppets of the ruling CPI(M). State Industries Minister P Rajeeve told reporters that the Bills were being passed in the State Assembly in a democratic manner.

"The Legislative Assembly passes the Bills in a democratic manner. The government passes orders and laws in the name of the Governor. The passed Bills are sent to him. It's a Constitutional post. He knows what to do," he said. The Minister dismissed news reports that the Governor would not give the Bill his assent and said the government hopes he would fulfil his Constitutional responsibilities. Speaking to mediapersons, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan said, "The University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is a move to illegally appoint the puppets of the ruling CPI(M) as teachers. This is not to curtail the powers of Governor.

The government is trying to degrade the university into government departments by stripping off the self-governance authority of the universities and destroy its quality." The Congress alleged secret understanding between the government and the Governor. "Even though the Governor called the Kannur Vice-Chancellor a criminal, he only gave his assent to reappoint him as the VC," Satheesan alleged.

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State higher education minister R Bindu today introduced the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in the Assembly and said that the provisions related to appointment of Vice Chancellors (VCs) of universities in the State does not take away or dilute the powers of the Chancellor to do the same as claimed by the Congress-led UDF opposition. On Tuesday, the Governor said he would not sign any of the bills -- including the University Laws (Amendment) Bill -- if they were against the spirit of the Constitution. Prior to that, he had said the Bills would become laws only if he signs them after going through them.