It's Raj Bhavan not Pragathi Bhavan, says Guv Tamilisai

Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Sounderarajan said that the government was making much ado about nothing regarding issue of setting up Common Recruitment Board to fill the vacancies of State-owned Universities.

At a press conference on Wednesday she said she had received the bill just one month back. "I cannot blindly sign and approve the bill." The Guv said the note sent to her did not contain details of the bill. It only said that the government was forming a board. "How can I clear it without knowing the details. As a Chancellor, I have the right to know the objective of the bill, the need for new board and its impact," she said.

The Governor said the bill was sent to her one month back and she took time to study it at length, consulted the Vice Chancellors and prepared a detailed report. I wanted clarification from the government on whether the board was required and if so why. There is nothing wrong in it nor any protocol has been violated. But still they keep talking about protocols.

She said she was also surprised as to why the letter took so much time to reach the minister from CMO. "The minister attributed motives to my office without verifying facts," Tamilisai said. She said her only intention was to ensure that eligible persons were recruited and party-based recruitment does not take place.

When asked about the students JAC threatening to protest in front of Raj Bhavan, she said first they should answer why they did not agitate during last eight years when no recruitments took place.

She said she has always been advocating that teaching and nonteaching posts be filled without delay and wanted to facilitate the process. "This being the situation how can the TRS leaders say that I am blocking appointments," she asked.

She said in the past when students protested in front of Railway Station, the TRS leaders asked them to protest in front of Raj Bhavan. She said there was no need for anyone to protest because Raj Bhavan was easily accessible to all unlike Pragathi Bhavan. Students of Basara, JNTU and OU had met her and she tried to address their issues.

The Governor said only six bills were pending with her and that she was considering them one after the other. There can be no time limit for considering them, she added.

When asked to comment on the proposal of Kerala Government to issue an ordinance to strip Governor of Chancellors role, she said she felt that Governor should be the Chancellor. As Chancellors they only guide and have no other role to play, she added.