CPI (M) asks President, PM to recall Governor Banwarilal Purohit

Chennai: CPI (M) on Sunday urged President Ram Nath Kovind to “recall” Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, alleging he was acting beyond the realm of his powers.

“The 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 M. K. Surappa as Vice-Chancellor of the premier State-run Anna University here. Mr. Purohit, had, however, defended his decision saying he acted according to the Constitution.

The CPI (M), in its memorandum, made references to a recent alleged sex scandal involving assistant professor, Nirmala Devi. “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. Opposing the Governor appointing one-man commission, under retired bureaucrat R. Santhanam, to investigate the scandal, the CPI (M) said the panel should be “immediately disbanded.” The Governor had clarified in a press conference here on April 17 that he had not seen the lady professor.

The scandal emerged after a purported conversation of Nirmala Devi 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.