Why NOTA? #NOTA

Covert attempts to subordinate Kerala’s secular consciousness and higher education sector to the RSS agenda are gaining further momentum under the UDF government. The V.D. Satheesan government’s appointment of B. Ashok as Higher Education Secretary is the latest example of this disturbing trend. B. Ashok was among those who facilitated Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s efforts to saffronise Kerala’s universities. Kerala has not forgotten the dark period when Arif Mohammed Khan, under the saffron banner, trampled upon democratic values in the university sector. B. Ashok was among those who, from behind the scenes, extended full support to the Governor’s actions and his attempts to exercise unchecked authority over universities in the name of the Chancellor’s office. It was the same B. Ashok, who openly opposed the amendment bill introduced by the LDF government to curb the Chancellor’s excessive powers and safeguard the autonomy of universities. While serving as Vice-Chancellor of the Agricultural University, he exceeded his authority by recording a dissent note against cabinet policies. The entire LDF cabinet expressed strong dissatisfaction with this defiant action and formally reprimanded him through the Chief Secretary. Today, the V.D. Satheesan government has elevated the very same official who sought to undermine the policies of a democratically elected government to the top position in the Higher Education Department. B. Ashok’s pro-RSS positions did not emerge overnight. He publicly supported the beef ban, one of the most serious challenges confronting secularism in the country, and authored an article defending it. He also did not hesitate to use harsh language against democratic activists and students who protested this unconstitutional ban through beef festivals. Whom is the UDF government attempting to please by entrusting the Higher Education Department to an official whose allegiance to Sangh Parivar positions has been so consistently evident? Who can doubt that the person most pleased by this appointment would be the Governor at Raj Bhavan? Strong protests are emerging across the state against this appointment, which secular Kerala cannot accept. A powerful resistance must be built against the UDF government’s communal appeasement policies, which seek to transform Kerala’s educational institutions into extensions of the RSS. The government must immediately withdraw from attempts to undermine the higher education sector by placing officials who serve the interests of saffron politics in positions of authority. By placing a trusted associate of the Sangh Parivar at the centre of higher education administration, the UDF leadership is setting itself on a course that will carry a heavy political cost. Secular Kerala will not forgive this betrayal and capitulation.