Kerala Govt rejects saffronisation charge

Kerala Higher Education Minister Roji M John on Tuesday rejected allegations by the CPI(M) and its student wing SFI that the UDF Government was facilitating a BJP-friendly “power-sharing” arrangement in universities through appointments made by Governor and Chancellor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.

Responding to reporters’ questions on the allegations, John said the Government remained firmly opposed to “saffronisation”. “This Government does not agree, under any circumstances, with saffronisation. That is what we have said from the very beginning; we have said it earlier as well. That itself is our position, and there is no change in it,” he said.

The minister also turned the criticism back on the previous CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government, accusing it of allowing similar interventions in universities. “Those who are raising criticism now would do well to think about what happened during their own period.

This practice of Chancellors or Governors intervening in the day-to-day functioning of universities in Kerala began during the period of the LDF Government,” he said.

John alleged that individuals linked to the BJP, RSS and a pro-Sangh Parivar newspaper had been appointed to university bodies, including the Mahatma Gandhi University, during the previous Government’s tenure.