New Delhi: Amidst the raging row over his communication asking university vice-chancellors to resign, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking, implicitly, to oust state finance minister K.N. Balagopal over comments by the latter. Vijayan is learned to have shot the demand down.In his letter, the Governor did not explicitly seek the removal of Balagopal from the Left Democratic Front’s cabinet but it seemed to be the essence of his communication. Khan noted that he found Balagopal’s comments “seditious” in nature.“A minister who deliberately violates the oath and undermines the unity and integrity of India cannot continue to enjoy my pleasure. In these circumstances, I am left with no option but to convey that Balagopal has ceased to enjoy my pleasure,” the Governor said in his letter to Vijayan.He expressed hope that the CM will “consider the matter with seriousness it deserves and take action which is constitutionally appropriate”.The News Minute has reported that Balagopal said at a function that those who “come from places like Uttar Pradesh, may find it tough to understand universities in Kerala.”The former Rajya Sabha MP reportedly cited an incident in Uttar Pradesh to illustrate this. “Security guards of the Vice Chancellor of Banaras University had shot down five students. Then I was an MP and had gone there. The Vice Chancellor had 50 to 100 security guards. This is the situation in many universities there,” he said.“Universities in Kerala are democratic institutions capable of academic discussions and bringing about significant change. The current times should be used to understand and accept the democratic nature of our universities. As a state more developed than any other region in India, this is also the time to further strengthen our education system and the involvement of people from different spheres in it,” he added, according to TNM.The remarks come amidst the Governor’s communication asking all V-Cs of state universities to resign, prompting backlash from the state government and a high court order allowing the V-Cs to remain in position.CM Vijayan shot back a letter to the Governor rejecting his demand and saying that his trust in Balagopal remains “undiminished.”“After examining the matter in the light of constitutional practices, as well as the tradition of our country and the precedence, the words of K.N. Balagopal have nothing in it, that warrants the cessation of pleasure of the Governor, said the CM in his reply to the Governor’s missive. There is nothing objectionable in his speech either. My trust in him as the finance minister of the state is unwavering,” added the CM.“The Governor will appreciate that no further action needs to be taken in the matter,” Vijayan said.Balagopal said that the governor’s move makes this a “constitutional matter.”“As the Governor has chose to write to the CM, it has become a constitutional matter now. The CM will give him the reply. I do not have to comment on the merit of the matter. I have neither the missive nor the reply. What I have said is in the public domain, none of it was any kind of secret. I am not giving any response on the matter now,” the finance minister said.Details of letterIn his letter to the CM, the Governor alleged Balagopal delivered a speech at a University campus here on October 18, seeking to stoke the fire of regionalism and provincialism and undermining the unity of India and he was left with no option but to convey that the Finance Minister has “ceased to enjoy my pleasure”.Stating the reported statements of Balagopal are nothing short of violation of oath he had administered to him, Khan asked Vijayan to take action which was constitutionally appropriate.This the first such move by the governor after Raj Bhavan PRO tweeted on October 17 that the chief minister and Council of Ministers have 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.”Quoting newspaper reports of October 19, the Governor alleged the comments made by Balagopal and state higher education minister R. Bindu at a function organised at Karyavattom campus of the Kerala University were “clearly aimed at tarnishing the image of the Governor and lowering the dignity of office of the Governor”.“But the most disturbing were the comments made by the Finance Minister which seek to stoke the fire of regionalism and provincialism and if allowed to go unchecked they may have erosive and baneful influence on our national unity and integrity”, the Governor said in the letter, which carried newspaper reports quoting Balagopal.The Governor said, the “remarks of the Finance Minister seek to create a wedge between Kerala and other States of Indian Union and project a false impression as if different States of India have different systems of higher education”.Khan alleged that the reported statements of Balagopal are “nothing short of violation of the oath he had administered to him.”He also claimed that the assertions of Balagopal have no basis as the higher education in all states of India is subject to UGC Regulations which issues not only guidelines to conduct the affairs of the Universities but also provides substantial monetary assistance.“The Acts/Statutes of Indian Universities are more or less the same and Kerala’s Universities have had Vice Chancellors from outside the state. The NAAC grading of our Universities are also assessed and granted by non Keralite Peer Teams,” the Governor said in his letter to the CM.Khan said the comments of the finance minister challenge not only the national unity and integrity but also the constitutional convention that makes it necessary that Governor of each state shall be from outside the state.He stated Balagopal also “seems to be blissfully unaware” that Banaras Hindu University is a Central university and it does not come under the administrative control of Uttar Pradesh government and it had more V-C from other states including from southern than from UP.Others respondKanam Rajendran, the Communist Party of India’s state secretary, said that the governor clearly did not have the authority to either fire a minister or direct the CM to do that.“This is nothing but a storm in a tea cup. The Governor does not have the right or authority to sack a minister, nor does he have the right to direct the CM to do so. The Governor has no clue about his power or position,” added Rajendran.CPI(M)’s M.V. Govindan said the party was not confronting the Governor, who was pushing the agenda of the RSS in educational institutions. “What he is doing now is totally unconstitutional. We do not intend to go that way. We will uphold the constitution of India and move according to the law of the land,” he added.The Congress also was cautious in its response.“The Governor is exercising power he does not have. We think he is colluding with the ruling LDF. He had not exercised his power when it mattered. He did not even issue a showcause notice when former minister Saji Cheriyan questioned the constitution itself,” said V.T. Balram, Congress leader and former MLA.(With inputs by Rajeev Ramachandran)
