Recall TN Governor Purohit, CPI-M tells Prez Ram Nath Kovind

"...Governor of Tamil Nadu was acting beyond the realm of his mandated powers in making appointments, of a highly controversial and partisan kind, to public positions," CPI(M) Sate Secretary, K Balakrishnan said in his memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind.

The allegation comes against the backdrop of the recent objection by opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to the appointment of MK Surappa as vice-chancellor of the premier State-run Anna University here.

Purohit, had, however, defended his decision saying he acted according to the Constitution.

The CPI(M), in its memorandum, made exhaustive references to a recent alleged sex scandal involving a woman college assistant professor, Nirmala Devi, who had claimed access to the Governor, an allegation dismissed by Purohit as having no truth, baseless and unfounded.

"The Governor's office itself being embroiled in a controversy is intolerable. We reiterate that the President of the country should immediately intervene to recall the Governor forthwith," he said, referring to the scandal.

Opposing Purohit appointing an one-man commission, headed by retired bureaucrat R Santhanam, to investigate the scandal, the CPI(M) said the panel should be "immediately disbanded."

The Governor had said in a press conference on April 17 here that he had not even seen the lady professor.

The scandal broke out after a purported conversation of the lady professor over phone with girl students, asking them to consider sexual favours to "officials" of Madurai Kamaraj University went viral on April 15 in the social media.

She was arrested on April 16 and the case was later transferred to the CB-CID wing from police.