SFI demands that UDF government rid the Kerala Governor of Chancellor power

Published 22 July 2026 · politics

The Students Federation of India (SFI) has demanded that the United Democratic Front (UDF) government ensure that the Kerala Governor is removed as the Chancellor

The Students Federation of India (SFI) has demanded that the United Democratic Front (UDF) government ensure that the Kerala Governor is removed as the Chancellor of State-funded universities. The previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had passed the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which sought to strip the Governor’s powers as Chancellor. The United Democratic Front (UDF) had shared the LDF’s concern that the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disposition at the Centre would use the Governor’s office to saffronise the higher education sector in Kerala, and agreed, in principle, with the decision to dismantle the gubernatorial office’s Chancellor powers.

However, then Leader of the Opposition and current Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan had opposed the provision of the Bill that sought to vest the LDF government with the authority to appoint “persons of pre-eminence” as Chancellors of respective State-funded universities, fearing political interference in the high office. Instead, the UDF proposed that the Bill propose a search committee consisting of a panel of retired Supreme Court and High Court judges to ensure impartiality in the selection of Chancellors. The LDF’s Bill has remained in limbo after the then Kerala Governor, Arif Mohammad Khan, reserved the proposed law for Presidential consideration under Article 200 of the Constitution.

The SFI’s attempt to resurrect the agenda to remove Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has raised the question whether the UDF government would weigh a new Bill to replace the one the President had refused to sign into law. The SFI’s requirement topped the charter of demands SFI State secretary P.S. Sanjeev and president M. Sivaprasad handed over to Mr. Satheesan at the latter’s office. Recently, Leader of the Opposition and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had accused the government of playing second fiddle to the BJP by allegedly acquiescing to the Governor’s decision to stack State university senates with Sangh Parivar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) apparatchiks.

The other demands include free bus travel for students, permanent Vice-Chancellors, free education till degree level, political freedom on campuses, permanent Principals in government colleges, regulating fees in private and self-financing institutions, and a unified examination system.