Former Chief Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday, 9 June accused the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government of facilitating what he described as a 'saffronisation' drive at Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) in Kottayam, Kerala, and alleged direct involvement of the Governor's office in the process.

What Vijayan Alleged

In a social media post on Tuesday, Vijayan claimed that since the UDF returned to power, the Governor — who also serves as Chancellor of Kerala's universities — had repeatedly interfered in MGU's administration. He alleged that the appointment of a temporary Vice-Chancellor at the university from a BJP-linked teachers' organisation marked the beginning of a concerted effort to bring MGU under Sangh Parivar influence.

Vijayan further alleged that the government had failed to provide a panel for the temporary Vice-Chancellor appointment, effectively narrowing the legal options available to challenge the decision. He also claimed that 19 out of 30 members inducted into the university Senate were RSS supporters, alleging that established norms were bypassed in the process.

UDF Accused of Silence

The former Chief Minister charged the UDF government with remaining a 'silent spectator' while the university's institutional character was allegedly being altered. He argued that the UDF's reluctance to confront the Governor amounted to a betrayal of Kerala's secular and constitutional values.

'The Chief Minister must clarify whether the government's allegiance is to the Constitution or to the RSS,' Vijayan said, referencing earlier legal positions on the limited role of Governors in university administration and questioning the current government's stand on the matter.

LDF's Record Cited

Vijayan contrasted the current government's posture with that of the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) administration, which he said had resisted similar attempts over its decade-long tenure — both through political opposition and legal challenges. He argued that taking control of universities has been a long-standing objective of the Sangh Parivar and that, unlike the LDF, the UDF was now enabling such moves rather than checking them.

He stressed that the issue was not a partisan political contest but a question of upholding the Constitution and university statutes, and called on secular and democratic forces to unite against what he characterised as an organised effort to capture higher education institutions in the state.

Broader Context

The row over gubernatorial interference in Kerala's universities is not new. The previous LDF government under Vijayan had a prolonged and public stand-off with the then-Governor over Vice-Chancellor appointments across multiple universities, with several cases reaching the courts. The current episode at MGU suggests the fault lines over university autonomy and the Chancellor's role have persisted under the new dispensation, with the political positions now reversed — the LDF in opposition pressing the same constitutional arguments it once made from the treasury benches.