P. Viswanathan. File
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
The rights of the State were of utmost importance and in no condition would those be compromised, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan said on Thursday (May 28, 2026).
Responding to a controversy stoked by his statement in Madurai on Wednesday (May 27) that the new government need not follow the policies of the previous government, particularly with regard to the Chief Minister serving as the Chancellor of universities, Mr. Viswanathan said: “Our stand is very clear. The rights of the State are of utmost importance. As an MLA, as a Minister, and as a citizen of Tamil Nadu, I can assertively state that we will not compromise on this. We are protecting the rights of every citizen of Tamil Nadu and I am aware of this responsibility.”
The crux of his statement, he noted, was that the Chief Minister will take a final decision after conferring with the officials of the department and other Cabinet colleagues. “What I made was a general comment. I did not respond to a particular context,” he observed.
The Minister’s statement invited reactions from across the political spectrum with the VCK, the CPI, the DMK, and the PMK strongly criticising what they described a surrender of the rights of the State. The issue in question pertains to the authority to appoint Vice Chancellors to State-run universities. Under the DMK government, the Assembly had passed a series of amendments to Acts governing higher education institutions in the State, including the one that transferred the authority of appointing Vice Chancellors to State-run universities from the Governor to the Chief Minister.
“We are a new government. I don’t want to go into the details in this matter, but in no way would either the Congress or the TVK surrender the rights of the citizens of Tamil Nadu. That is not our intention,” Mr. Viswanathan emphasised.
Published – May 28, 2026 01:16 pm IST
