Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday said he was open to advice from the state government, “but not pressure from them.”
Khan’s statement assumes significance as he has admitted that he succumbed to the pressure from the state government with regard to the re-appointment of Gopinath Ravindran as vice-chancellor (VC) of Kannur University a decision that has been quashed by the Supreme Court.
The Governor, speaking to reporters here, said he succumbed to the government pressure only because there was a legal opinion from the Advocate General (AG), the highest law officer in the state, in favour of the re-appointment.
“I have said before the whole of the media that what I did was wrong. But, I succumbed to that pressure only because there was a legal opinion from the AG. Otherwise, the political pressure I would have resisted.
“If I have some confusion about the legality of something, to whom would I go? The AG. He is the highest legal officer in the state,” Khan said.
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