GOVERNORS VS CHIEF MINISTERS

TUSSLES WITH THE GOVERNMENTS OF KERALA AND OTHER STATES REIGNITE OLD DEBATES OVER THE GOVERNOR'S ROLE IN INDIA’S FEDERAL STRUCTURE

- Kaushik Deka

IT’S A MOMENT OF DÉJÀ VU FOR KERALA. Way back in 1959, the state government, then led by CPI (and later CPI(M)) stalwart E.M.S. Namboodiripad, was at loggerheads with Governor B.R. Rao over, among several other things, an education bill that aimed to introduce certain reforms in the private education sector. The governor was unwilling to give his assent to the contentious bill, which had faced resistance from several organisations and pressure groups. The tussle eventually led to the dismissal of the Namboodiripad government and imposition of President’s rule in the state. More than six decades later, the southern state has been witnessing a similar tussle between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by Pinarayi Vijayan and the current occupant of the Raj Bhavan—Arif Mohammad Khan. The bone of contention this time, too, is the education sector, more specifically the appointment of vice-chancellors in the 13 universities run by the Kerala government.

On October 17, Khan ignited a political row by warning the state’s ministers that he would not hesitate to remove them if they continue to “lower the dignity” of the Raj Bhavan. The immediate provocation was higher education minister R. Bindu’s statement asking the governor to sign the University Law Amendment Bill that seeks to curtail the Raj Bhavan's powers in appointing V-Cs. Two days earlier, in his capacity as the chancellor of state universities, the governor had removed 15 members of Kerala University's senate for not sending their nominee's name for the VC's selection committee.