Appointment of Gopinath Ravindran; Supreme Court dismantled lies: Chief Minister

PALAKKAD: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the campaign that the Supreme Court judgment which cancelled the appointment of Prof. Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur VC is a setback to the government is baseless. The single bench and division bench of the High Court ruled that the re-appointment of Gopinath Ravindran was in accordance with law. It is understood that the Supreme Court has upheld those judgments, said the Chief Minister.

He was responding to the media at Kulappully Shoranur as part of the Navakerala Sadas. The fact that the courts have not found any flaw in the recruitment process has debunked the lies of the interested parties. The government has done nothing to take away the chancellor's right to take decisions. As a result of the Chancellor's misrepresentation of facts, he himself received a heavy blow from the Supreme Court. This is a setback to efforts to make it appear that there is external pressure from the government.

Chancellor Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was the first party in the petition filed by the government in the Supreme Court. In the affidavit submitted by the chancellor, it was stated that Prof Gopinath Ravindran was reappointed in violation of UGC rules. The verdict said that there was no violation of UGC rules in the re-appointment and they were surprised by the Chancellor's stance. Chancellor is the appointing authority who reappointed Gopinath Ravindran. He himself told the court that his appointment was against the UGC rules. The Supreme Court holds that it is not. It is strange that even after the judgment the chancellor told the media that the reappointment was illegal.

It is also false to say that the legal advice of the Advocate General was conveyed from the office of the Chief Minister to the Chancellor. The legal advice of the AG was given to the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education. The higher education department is what provided legal advice to the Raj Bhavan. Pinarayi Vijayan said that people from the Chief Minister's office visited him as per the Chancellor's request.

Meanwhile, MV Govindan stated that the court has not dismissed any of the government's arguments regarding the re-appointment of Kannur Vice Chancellor. His ability, merit, age and redeployment to continue as VC were not questioned. The verdict was based on the governor's explanation. The Chief Minister has not pressed for anything. The letter from the Minister of Higher Education is not part of the external intervention but part of the communication with the Chancellor. No court will be approached to remove the references. Everything the governor says is false. The VC has come under severe opposition from the RSS chief and the governor is taking a supportive stance to that.