Govt should not ignore public interest: Governor

The friction between Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and the state government over the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University, Palampur, could flare up again. “The statement that the government gives money is not right. For public interest, the government should make sacrifice not ignore public interest,” the Governor said after inaugurating a paragliding event in Shimla today.

The appointment of Vice-Chancellor to universities has been a sore point between the government and the Governor since the former tabled a Bill on September 22, 2023, to ensure that Vice-Chancellors were appointed by the Governor on its aid and advice. The relations between the Governor and the government had strained further when the Agriculture Minister had claimed that the appointment of a regular Vice-Chancellor of the agriculture university, Palampur, was delayed due to the Raj Bhawan. The Governor had called a press conference to clarify that the Bill passed by the Vidhan Sabha, on which he had sought a clarification, was pending with the government, not with the Raj Bhawan, as the minister had claimed.