Overview
- Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan said in Madurai that the new TVK-led government 'need not' follow the previous stance that the Chief Minister must be chancellor, a comment that drew sharp political pushback.
- The minister issued a clarification the next day saying his earlier remark was a general comment, stressing on May 28 that the rights of Tamil Nadu will not be surrendered and that the Chief Minister will take the final call after consultation.
- Opposition and alliance partners including the VCK, CPI, DMK, and PMK criticised the original comment as abandoning the state’s position, with VCK leader D. Ravikumar publicly questioning whether the minister spoke with the Chief Minister’s approval.
- No administrative change has been announced and the matter remains pending with the Chief Minister and the cabinet for a final decision, leaving university appointment rules in political limbo for now.
- The dispute rests on Assembly amendments that moved vice‑chancellor appointment power from the Governor to the Chief Minister, a shift validated by the Supreme Court in April 2025 and reinforced when the court set aside a Madras High Court stay in February 2026, making governance and autonomy the core issues at stake.