Kerala Ministers meet Guv to discuss technical varsity VC appointments

Thiruvanananthapuram, Dec 10 (PTI) Two Kerala ministers on Wednesday visited Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and held discussions regarding the selection of vice-chancellors for two technical universities in the state.

Law Minister P Rajeev and Higher Education Minister R Bindu met with Arlekar at Lok Bhavan, his official residence here, following a recent Supreme Court directive to reach a consensus on the significant appointments which have long been a point of contention between the two.

The issue pertains to the appointment of VCs in APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology.

Later, speaking to reporters, Rajeev said the meeting was held in compliance with the court directive but refrained from divulging details of the discussion.

"The discussion was held in accordance with the directive of the apex court. The government is always trying to proceed in consensus with the Chancellor," he said.

Replying to a question, Rajeev said as per the SC verdict, the Chief Minister holds the authority to decide the priority in the selection of candidates for the vice-chancellor appointments.

If either the government or the Chancellor has any difference of opinion in this regard, they may bring it to the attention of the court as per the top court directive, he added.

The discussion would continue further, the minister said, without elaborating on the outcome of the meeting.

The meeting took place days after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that the Governor, in his capacity as Chancellor, had violated the Apex Court's directions regarding the appointment of vice-chancellors for the two technical universities in the state.

Vijayan had sought to know how Arlekar could dare to contravene the apex court's direction that the VCs must be selected from a list of names provided by the Chief Minister.

Sources said the Governor, during his meeting with the ministers on Wednesday, expressed displeasure that they had been sent instead of the Chief Minister himself, despite the court's directive that both should reach a consensus.

Arlekar is also understood to have expressed displeasure at the Chief Minister's public criticism of the Governor over a matter that is sub judice.

Last week, the Supreme Court said it would intervene to resolve the ongoing deadlock over the selection of vice-chancellors for the two universities if Vijayan and Arlekar did not reach a consensus by December 9.

The apex court had earlier taken serious exception to Arlekar allegedly ignoring the Sudhanshu Dhulia committee report on the appointment of vice-chancellors for the two universities.

The Governor had approached the Supreme Court seeking to exclude Vijayan from the selection process, arguing that neither university envisaged any role for the Chief Minister in the appointments.

To resolve the impasse between the Kerala Governor and the state government over the appointments, the Supreme Court had appointed former apex court judge Sudhanshu Dhulia to head a panel for shortlisting names. PTI LGK ROH