Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan  |  Photo Credit: ANI
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, on Tuesday, said that he was unwilling to disclose the reason behind stepping down from the post of Chancellor of Universities. Speaking to news agency ANI, Khan said that he does not intend to discuss the reasons behind his decision as it involves national institutions.
“Something definitely has happened which has made me take this decision that I don’t want to continue as Chancellor (of Universities). But I won’t discuss that (the reason) because it involves national institutions,” Khan said, news agency ANI quoted.
On December 18, Khan had hit out at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Higher Education Minister R Bindu over the matter regarding his appointment and said that he was unable to work in an environment where there was ‘too much political interference’.
Not my constitutional duty: Khan
“If it (chancellorship) were part of my constitutional duty, I can be blamed but it is not. The law passed by Kerala Assembly has given this duty to me&if I see those who’ve made the law are themselves breaking that law every day, what shall I do?” he said.
Khan demanded that the state government should bring an ordinance to hand over the powers of chancellorship to the Chief Minister. On December 8, he had written a letter to the Chief Minister and expressed his displeasure over the political appointments in Kerala’s universities.
“Conflict comes when you assert your authority against some other authority. I have requested that you bring an ordinance, you become the chancellor, let anybody become the chancellor, but for me, it is not possible to see this kind of political interference,” he had said.