THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Speaking to the media, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that he will go ahead with the appointment of the Kerala University Vice Chancellor and that the two-member selection committee formed by him is as per the rules.

"Despite the request, the university did not provide a representative. A representative will be included if provided. Finance Minister KN Balagopal had come to the Raj Bhavan and demanded that the Vice-Chairman of the Planning Board be made the Chancellor's nominee in the search committee. This was included in the minutes and action was taken to form a search committee. After this, the university senate passed a resolution to cancel the search committee. There is a contradiction in this," the governor said.

"The appointment of Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister's Private Secretary KK Ragesh, is illegal. She is not even qualified to attend the interview. She does not have teaching experience as per UGC rules. Will take further action after examining the documents and holding a hearing," he added.

The governor, who reiterated that he re-appointed Dr Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur Vice-Chancellor due to the insistence of the Chief Minister, added that the decision was wrong. "Kannur VC is trying to protect the interest of his political masters. He is now criticising the Centre. As per the CM's request, I said I would give weightage to Dr Gopinath Ravindran. His name was not on the list that reached the Raj Bhavan. Later, the Higher Education Minister issued a letter to quash the search committee along with the legal advice of the Advocate General. There was pressure on me to do things against my conscience. After the re-appointment, I decided to give up the post of chancellor. I decided to continue after the Chief Minister assured me that there would be no more government interference," the governor said.