In October 2024, TVK founder and current Chief Minister Joseph Vijay had vowed to abolish the post of Governor if his party came to power in Tamil Nadu, arguing that the office functioned as an unelected obstacle to elected governments. Nearly two years later, even as the TVK government continues to advocate curtailing the Governor’s powers, one of its ministers has gone a step further, describing the Governor as “just a manager” and reiterating the party’s position that the office itself is unnecessary.
The remarks are significant not only because they reopen the debate over the Governor’s role in higher education administration, but also because TVK itself ultimately depended on the Governor’s office to assume power after the 2026 Assembly election. After emerging as the single largest party but falling short of a majority, Vijay had to repeatedly approach Governor Rajendra Arlekar to stake claim to form the government and demonstrate legislative support.
Against that backdrop, TVK Electricity minister CTR Nirmal Kumar’s latest comments have once again highlighted the contradiction between the party’s long-standing rhetoric against the Governor’s office and its reliance on the same constitutional authority during the government formation process.
Speaking on the issue of Vice-Chancellor appointments, Nirmal Kumar said TVK’s stand remains unchanged and that the Chief Minister should be the Chancellor and should have the authority to appoint Vice-Chancellors.
“Our stand is that the Chief Minister should appoint the Vice-Chancellors and the Chief Minister should be the Chancellor. There is no change in that position,” he said.
The minister argued that Governors, being appointed positions, are not equipped to understand the needs of students, universities and the state administration in the same way an elected government can.
“Look, a Governor is almost like a manager. A Governor of a state is just like a manager. In fact, our position is that there is no need for a Governor at all. There is absolutely no change in that stand,” he said.
According to Nirmal Kumar, an appointed Governor cannot fully understand the requirements of the people, students and the government.
“A Governor who has been appointed and goes around universities must first understand what the people need, what the government needs and what the students need. That understanding will not come naturally. It is the government that knows. It is the government administering the state that knows what students need and what people in different regions require. Therefore, it is proper only if the government makes these appointments,” he said.
The minister further contended that Governors do not have a significant role in the functioning of universities and criticised the existing appointment process.
“First of all, the Governor does not have a major role in this. A Governor can appoint anyone as Chancellor. They can appoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relatives or Home Minister Amit Shah’s relatives. Whether the people being appointed have the capability to administer a university is something we all know. Such competence comes only through experience,” he said.
Emphasising that elected governments are better placed to make decisions regarding higher education, Nirmal Kumar said the state’s requirements could only be understood by the administration chosen by the people.
“Only a government that administers a state understands its needs. They are the ones who should handle these matters,” he said.
Reiterating his criticism of the Governor’s role, the minister added, “As far as we are concerned, the Governor is just a manager. If one manager leaves, another manager comes. We do not need that. The state government knows what students need. There is no change in our position on that.”
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