The Confederation of University Employees Organisations (CUEO), Kerala, has alleged that the appointment of a “Sangh Parivar supporter” as the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) [in-charge] of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), following a “similar development” at Mahatma Gandhi University, is part of an understanding between the United Democratic Front (UDF) government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The confederation pointed out that, unlike in other universities, the Kerala Agricultural University Act stipulates that the Chancellor shall appoint a temporary Vice-Chancellor only after consultation with the Pro-Chancellor, a position held by the Agriculture Minister.
“It is understood that Sajitha Rani, president of a Sangh Parivar-affiliated teachers’ organisation in the university, was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor through this procedure. Had the Agriculture Minister held a different opinion, he would have publicly stated so. However, the Minister’s failure to do so clearly indicates that the appointment is part of a political understanding between the UDF and the BJP,” the confederation alleged.
‘Saffronisation agenda’
In a statement, CUEO president P.K. Biju and general secretary Harilal accused the UDF government of surrendering Kerala’s higher education sector to the Sangh Parivar’s saffronisation agenda. It stated that the democratic and legal resistance mounted by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government against “the Governor’s Sangh Parivar-driven agenda” in higher education has been overturned as part of political bargaining between the UDF and the BJP.
The CUEO also announced that it would mobilise strong protests across universities in Kerala against the alleged nexus and its purported attempts to undermine higher education.
Published – June 28, 2026 08:15 pm IST