Congress MP writes to President, accuses Kerala Guv, state govt of dragging him into row
Jan 10, 2022
New Delhi [India], January 10 : Congress MP KC Venugopal on Monday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind accusing Kerala Governor and the state government of dragging the President's office into their "political disputations" involving Kerala University Vice-Chancellor.
In the letter, Venugopal wrote, "I wish to draw your kind attention to the most unfortunate event that has unfolded in last few days in Kerala, where your esteemed office has been dragged into political disputations."
He alleged that it was a concerted attempt to lower the constitutional dignity of the post of President.
"It is reported that the Kerala Governor, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University, had issued a directive to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Kerala to confer D Litt on the President. As per reports, the Vice-Chancellor violated the statute of the University and directly informed the Governor that the University Syndicate had turned down the proposal," the letter read.
However, later, the Governor summoned the Vice-Chancellor and urged him to give a written letter on the matter.
Venugopal, in the letter, said that Vice-Chancellor VP Mahadevan Pillai had purportedly written a letter, revealing that the VC had merely discussed the proposal with some Syndicate members and informed the Governor that the University Syndicate had turned down the proposal.
"The letter written by VC came out in public domain. It is also alleged that the handwritten letter was leaked to media by the Office of Governor itself to make the matter worse," the Congress MP said in the letter.
Venugopal further requested President Kovind to seek a detailed report on these unwarranted events and take appropriate action to settle this matter.
"I would urge upon your good self to issue a reprimand to those concerned with a clear warning to desist from involving the Office of President Kovind in their personal wrangling and point-scoring exercise," the letter added.
