Thiruvananthapuram CPI(M) State secretary M. V. Govindan accused Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheeshan of endorsing Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s move to usurp the jurisdictional autonomy of State universities to impose the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s agenda on centres of higher learning.
By declaring his support for Mr. Khan’s bid to seek the resignation of nine vice-chancellors, Mr. Satheeshan has revealed himself to be an appendage of the Sangh Parivar.
Mr. Govindan was inaugurating a Left Democratic Front convention to drum up public resistance against Mr. Khan’s alleged authoritarian tendencies and disdain for the elected government.
He alleged that Mr. Satheesan had found himself isolated in the United Democratic Front. Senior Indian Union Muslim League leaders struck a different tack. They slammed the Governor for overstepping his constitutional bounds. IUML-Congress disagreement rarely came to the fore such forcefully. The League had offered political cover to the Congress even when it oversaw the demolition of the Babri Masjid by the RSS.
Mr. Satheesan has rendered himself a willing tool in RSS’s hands. He is now leading the Sangh Parivar effort to scuttle Kerala’s higher education sector.
Mr. Govindan said Mr. Khan would face a groundswell of protest if he sought to derail Kerala’s aspirations. The RSS wanted to derail the government’s attempt to transform Kerala into a knowledge economy.
The State was poised to reform the higher education sector by introducing more skill development courses with an eagle focus on innovation. Kerala’s investment in education prompted 11 lakh students to migrate from pricey private institutions to modernised government schools.
Mr. Govindan also slammed Mr. Khan for segregating journalists critical of his actions.
CPI(M) Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan addressed a similar rally in Palakkad.
The LDF conventions are a precursor to a siege of Raj Bhavan on November 15. The ruling front has said it would muster more than 11 lakh protestors to send a clear political message to Mr Khan.
