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Never sought extra posts above sanctioned strength, says Kerala governor over leaked letters
The governor’s letters were leaked apparently as a counter to his nepotism charges against the state government.
After two letters written by him leaked into media, Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday said his office “never sought a single appointment in Raj Bhawan other than the sanctioned strength” that existed before his appointment in 2019.
Two letters written by him were ‘leaked’ to the media by the government — the first written by him in December 2020 to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan requesting him to regularise 20 Kudumbhasree ( a women self-help group) workers and second, a request sent last year to regularise a photographer who was working in Raj Bhawan on contract for 22 years.
The governor’s letters were leaked apparently as a counter to his nepotism charges against the state government.
The clarification issued by the Raj Bhawan said, “his office never sought for a new post but requested to regularise an employee who worked more than 23 years in the same post”. Similarly, his office said, his request to regularise Kudumbhasree workers was in tune with the government policy to regularise temporary hands who have worked for more than 10 years. It also clarified that personal staff of Raj Bhawan do not enjoy pension or other benefits.
What really angered the state government was his latest outburst that “changing personal staff of ministers after two-and-a half-years to get pension benefits to two sets of employees (old and new batches), all party cadres, was unethical and against democratic norms”. He had also said that like his ongoing campaign against nepotism, he will make personal staff issue of ministers a national issue.
Meanwhile the governor, who was out of the state for more than a week, said in Kochi that governors were holding the post of chancellor as per the “national convention and tradition” and it was not based on the sweet will of the state government.
“The government cannot break a national convention or national consensus like this. Let it try to remove the chancellor,” he said criticising the government’s move to bring a bill in the assembly to remove him from the chancellor’s post.
“The Governor was Chancellor of universities even before Kerala came into existence in 1956. This is something on which a national consensus was built and a national convention evolved. Why? So that there is no executive interference in universities and their autonomy is safeguarded,” he was reported as saying by PTI.
The government had been claiming that the governor was given the post of chancellor by a law enacted by the assembly and the same can be taken away by the executive.
Khan said he will continue his fight against nepotism in varsities. He said if the CM was not aware of these appointments it clearly showed that he was “incompetent.” He said this duty as a chancellor was to “restore universities to their pristine glory and free from all “bhai-bhatijavad” sorts of nepotism.
Taking a dig at Vijayan, he said if the chief minister was not aware that someone from his office was directing the vice-chancellor of Kannur University to appoint a relative, “it shows how incompetent he (CM) is.” “If he (CM) knew about it, then he is equally guilty,” Khan was reported as saying by news agency PTI.
Referring to leaking of his letters Khan said: “They are only doing this to cover up embarrassment caused to them. The government is elected by the people, it has to work for people, not for cadre. This government has become one which only works for the cadre,” he said. The ruling CPI(M) is yet to react over his latest outbursts.
With Agency Inputs
