In the midst of political uncertainty and chaos over exercising his full command of the party, ADMK's interim General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami has now caught troubling attention that was triggered by a shocking allegation from former Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who was in office when Palaniswami was the Chief Minister of the state, leading the previous ADMK regime. 

In what has become a reiteration of his claim that he made years ago, Purohit asserted that the posts of Vice-Chancellor were traded in Tamil Nadu under the ADMK rule. Purohit was the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2021 and he is currently serving as the Governor of Punjab. Throwing a bombshell at Tamil Nadu, he claimed he had a bad tenure as the Governor under the ADMK rule. 

On Friday - October 21, Purohit was addressing the media at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh, Punjab, during which he made the allegation. He said, "I was Tamil Nadu Governor for four years. It was very bad there. In Tamil Nadu, the vice-chancellor post was sold for Rs 40-50 crores. I appointed 27 VCs of universities in Tamil Nadu as per law when I was Governor there", adding that he has taken an oath to protect the Constitution and will not allow violation of rules. 

Purohit made a shocking allegation of a scam in the midst of friction with the Punjab-ruling Aam Aadmi government over the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the Punjab Agriculture University. Referring to the issue with his current state government, Purohit further said, "They (Punjab government) should learn from me how work happens. I don't even know who is capable and not capable in Punjab. I see to it that education improves." 

The events from Punjab suggest that the equation between Purohit and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is weakening as they have a war of words in the appointments of the Vice-Chancellor. Purohit said that he has the dual role of governor and chancellor of universities in Punjab. Recently, the Punjab government appointed Satbir Singh Gosal as the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agriculture University. 

However, Purohit asked the Chief Minister to abrogate the appointment of Gosal by saying that he wasn't appointed in adherence to the norms of the University Grants Commission and the approval of the chancellor. However, Chief Minister Mann said that the appointment was done as per the law and on Thursday, he slammed Governor Purohit for interfering in the functioning of his government. 

On Friday, at the press meeting, Purohit was asked about the government's conduct that it won't withdraw the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and he said that he would take legal advice. He added that he is the constitutional head of the state and he had administered the oath of office to Bhagwant Mann as the Chief Minister. Back in Tamil Nadu, Purohit's allegation sparked a debate and outrage against the then ADMK government when the party leaders are facing raids on corruption charges. 

How VCs are appointed in Tamil Nadu and the recap of Purohit's previous allegation

The sitting Governors will be the Chancellor for the universities in their respective states as per the constitution. As the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2021, Purohit was the chancellor of the universities in the state while each of the varsity will be led by the Vice-Chancellor appointed by the Governor in consultation with the state government. The Vice-Chancellors will be appointed for three years.

They will be appointed after a recommendation from the Search Committee of the Department of Higher Education in the state. As per the current norm, this committee under the Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department will shortlist three candidates for the post of Vice-Chancellor and the Governor will choose one of them and appoint him to the respective university.

This Committee will be led by the Governor's representative and will consist of a representative from the state government and a representative of the University where the Vice-Chancellor will be appointed. In 2018, when Purohit was the Governor of Tamil Nadu, he, for the first time, alleged that the post of Vice-Chancellor was being sold for crores in the state and he made this claim while he was addressing at an event organized by the state's higher education department.

While his allegation sparked furor at that time against the then-ruling ADMK, the then-higher education minister KP Anbalagan denied the charge and maintained that his department and the state government have nothing to do with the final appointment of Vice-Chancellors as it was done by the Governor based on the recommendations made by the Select Committee. As Purohit reiterated his allegation now from Punjab, it has created a wave of public outcry in Tamil Nadu.