The standoff between the Kerala Government and the Governor over Vice Chancellor appointments has deepened, as yet another round of talks failed to produce a breakthrough. Ministers P. Rajeev and R. Bindu met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday morning in an effort to reach a compromise, following a directive from the Supreme Court. But after more than an hour of deliberations, the meeting ended with no agreement in sight.
At the heart of the dispute is Dr. Seetha Thomas, whose appointment the government has been opposing. The Governor, however, strongly defended her credentials during the discussion, questioning the logic behind the government’s resistance. He reminded the ministers that Dr. Seetha Thomas had been chosen by the government itself to serve on several prestigious committees — including those responsible for selecting the CEOs of Technopark and Infopark. She has also held leadership roles in K-Space, ICFOSS, and K-FON, and served on digital platform and IT advisory committees formed by the government.
With a solid academic background and proven expertise, the Governor reportedly asked why she was suddenly being rejected despite the government’s earlier trust in her abilities. He also clarified that he had no intention of politicizing the matter, which is why he has kept silent publicly and refrained from giving detailed explanations even in court.
The government, on the other hand, insists on its stand that the Vice Chancellor must be selected from the list submitted by the Chief Minister in his role as Chancellor. The ministers reiterated that the government prefers consensus-based decisions but would bring the developments to the attention of the Supreme Court without revealing specifics to the media.
The Supreme Court has already cautioned that if the two sides fail to reach an agreement, it may directly appoint Vice Chancellors for the two universities. With the issue now scheduled to come before the court on Thursday, all eyes are on whether the judiciary will intervene or grant more time to resolve the impasse.
