Amid ongoing spat with Kerala Govt, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan warns ministers of removal

Hon’ble Governor Shri Arif Mohammed Khan said:“The CM and Council of Ministers have every right to advise Governor.But statements of individual ministers that lower the dignity of the office of the Governor,can invite action including withdrawal of pleasure”:PRO,KeralaRajBhavan

— Kerala Governor (@KeralaGovernor) October 17, 2022

In the case of state ministers, the governor is the appointing authority. A minister can remain in office only if enjoying the governor’s pleasure. Its withdrawal means the minister has to quit or the governor can ask the chief minister to remove them. Ministers are appointed by the governor on the recommendation of the chief minister.

Sources said Khan was provoked by the statement of Kerala Higher Education Minister Prof R Bindu that everyone was bound by their constitutional duties. “The minister was referring to the Governor’s alleged refusal to give assent to University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was passed by the Assembly, in September this year. The bill had given an upper hand to the state government in the selection of vice-chancellors of the universities in Kerala,” said a source.

Bindu had said the proposed legislation laid down provisions for certain safeguards for teachers and students in autonomous colleges. “He (the Governor) could have returned the Bill by citing anomalies if there were any. He has instead abandoned it. It is the responsibility of all and not a particular section alone to fulfil their Constitutional duties,” she said last Friday.

The tussle between the Kerala Government and Governor has been going on for the last few months. It got to a flashpoint last week when Khan withdrew 15 of his nominees from the Senate of Kerala University in his capacity as its chancellor. Khan cracked the whip on the Senate members after they kept away from a meeting of the university body which should have proposed its nominee for the search and selection committee for the next vice-chancellor.

Earlier, Khan had formed a search committee without the Senate nominee. The University Act mandates that the committee should have a nominee from the Senate. Since there was no recommendation for the nominee from the CPI(M)-dominated Senate, Khan notified only a two-member committee. The CPI(M) was of the view that Khan had rushed through the process as the new bill would take away his upper hand in the selection of VC.