CHENNAI: CPI state secretary M Veerapandian on Tuesday criticised the Union government for failing to secure presidential assent for the Chennai University (Amendment) Bill, which empowers the Tamil Nadu government to appoint the Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras.
In a statement, he said the President had returned the Bill to the State government after keeping it pending for nearly two years, despite the Bill being passed in the Assembly on April 25, 2022. The legislation grants the State government powers to appoint and remove the Vice Chancellor.
Following the passage of this Bill, similar amendments concerning more than ten universities in the State were approved by the Assembly and sent to Governor R N Ravi. However, the Governor withheld action on these Bills, prompting the State government to approach the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled that Governors cannot indefinitely hold Bills passed by elected legislatures, terming such delays unconstitutional. After this, the Governor returned the Bills to the State government, which was then required to re-enact and resend them. They were subsequently forwarded to the President in 2023.
Veerapandian said the Chennai University Bill had been returned to the State without approval because the Union government did not take necessary steps to ensure assent. He alleged that the delay reflected the BJP-led government’s ideological interference in higher education.
He accused the Centre of using Governors to directly control the administration, daily functioning and curriculum of universities, and of appointing those aligned with the RSS ideology as Vice Chancellors. This, he said, was against secularism, State rights, the federal spirit and the Constitution.
He added that the Union government was attempting to enforce the National Education Policy 2020 in Tamil Nadu through Governors and Vice Chancellors appointed under its influence. “The refusal to approve the Bill is part of the BJP government’s plan to saffronise educational institutions,” he said.