Why Criticise VCs for Attending RSS Events?: Guv

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar said he could not understand why the state government criticised vice-chancellors of universities for attending Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) events, or what rules they violated by doing so.

Chief minister VD Satheesan had denounced the participation of three university VCs at an RSS event in June addressed by its chief Mohan Bhagwat, calling it a ‘grave lapse’ and unbecoming of the state’s educational traditions.

Governor Arlekar, in an interview with Malayalam news network Asianet on Friday, responded, saying, “I don’t know why the Government is criticising these things. Have they violated anything? The government is free to tell me if they have violated any rules. Let them come and tell me.”

The Governor’s remarks come just days after University of Kerala V-C Mohanan Kunnummal participated in an RSS event in Thiruvananthapuram on August 15. Kerala higher education minister Roji M John termed the V-C’s participation ‘unbecoming of his stature.’

The minister said V-Cs must stay away from such political events in order to display their professional propriety.

The Governor also said he believes he has ‘all the powers’ to summon government officials to Lok Bhavan.

“With a little knowledge of the Constitution (I have), I feel I have all the powers. That’s all,” he said in the interview.

The Governor’s remarks come days after CM Satheesan expressed the government’s displeasure over Lok Bhavan summoning top government officials, including the state police DGP, without seeking the permission of the chief minister’s office or the state administration.