Governor T N Chaturvedi put it rather mildly when he told the Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka State Open University K Sudha Rao, who called on him to explain the turn of events at the university campus when Chief Minister Kumaraswamy visited the campus last Sunday, as “unfortunate”. The Governor, who is the chancellor of universities, will no doubt go through Ms Rao’s report on the controversy surrounding Mr Kumaraswamy’s “order” to regularise the services of around 220 daily wage employees of the university.
Except for a diatribe he unleashed on Jnanapeeth award winning Kannada writer Dr Anantha Murthy when the latter contested the Rajya Sabha election, Mr Kumarawamy’s public conduct as chief minister — ever since he came to power in February, 2006 — has been befitting his office, even projecting an image of humility. But, the way he “summoned” Ms Rao on a holiday, sending a police officer to her house and tried to bulldoze her into regularising the services of temporary employees, was not only shocking but disgraceful. Mr Kumaraswamy might have been under pressure from the employees, who had been on a dharna for over a year pressing for regularisation, but that was no reason for him to behave like a feudal lord and publicly humiliate a lady Vice-Chancellor. After all, as Ms Rao has pointed out, the rules and regulations and even roster system had not been followed in these appointments made by the previous Vice-Chancellor and the university was in the process of correcting the same by issuing fresh advertisements. But the chief minister’s “threatening” gesture at Ms Rao and asking the employees to occupy their seats the next day clearly demonstrated his intolerance and contempt for the rule of law.
A piquant situation has arisen with the employees  “attending” office for the past few days and the registrar of the university declaring that they are doing so without authorisation. The Vice-Chancellor has also gone on leave till Monday and she may not return until the issue is settled. The universities across the state are beset with problems of casteism and corruption, thanks to the practice of appointing Vice-Chancellors on political considerations. The nomination of politicians in academic bodies like the senate and the syndicate has also contributed to vitiating the atmosphere. Such interference is on the rise and it can only hasten the fall in academic and administrative standards of universities.