Lending credence to the allegations by the Opposition, a letter written by Kerala University Vice Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai to turn down a proposal by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on awarding the President an honorary doctorate emerged in the public domain on Saturday.
The document validated the charge that statutory provisions were ignored while considering the proposal.
The latest in a series of ‘leaks’ in the ongoing controversy triggered by allegations raised by the Governor, the handwritten letter was apparently delivered by Prof. Pillai personally at the Raj Bhavan on December 7.
Referring to a meeting with the Chancellor a week before, the Vice Chancellor referred to a discussion he had with “several members of the Syndicate” on the proposal to confer DLitt degree on President Ram Nath Kovind.
“The members of the Syndicate turn it down (sic),” the letter added.
Despite the Governor having not divulged specific details of the discussions he had with Prof. Pillai, the contents of the letter corroborates the former’s claim of matters of national importance having sparked his rift with the government.
Mr. Khan had shot off the strongly-worded letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan a day after he was informed of Kerala University’s disinclination to honour his request.
The Opposition had accused the Vice Chancellor of failing in his duties by rejecting the proposal without placing it before the Syndicate and Senate for discussions.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who termed the Vice Chancellor’s act disgraceful, questioned the government’s role in the controversy.
In a statement, he accused Prof. Pillai of committing a serious lapse by presenting the decision as one adopted by the university despite failing to hold detailed discussions.
He demanded that the university divulge the minutes and agenda of the meeting the Vice Chancellor had with Syndicate members as claimed in the letter. The university authorities ought to have placed the proposal before the Syndicate and Senate before sending it back to the Governor for his assent, Mr. Chennithala said.