The ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on Monday slammed Governor B S Koshyari for being in favour of conducting final year university exams in the state, and said health of students cannot be put at risk amid the COVID-19 crisis.
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said when the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has already opposed holding exams in Gujarat and Goa in the current scenario, why is Koshyari's demand in contrast to it.
"Is it because the RSS-backed BJP is not in power in Maharashtra?" the Marathi daily asked.
Koshyari, who is the chancellor of universities in Maharashtra, last week asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to resolve the issue of conduct of final year university exams in the state "without any further delay in the larger interest of students".
In a letter to CM, Koshyari said "not conducting the final year examinations by universities amounts to breach of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines".
The governor also took strong objection to a letter written by state Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant to UGC, recommending cancellation of final year exams.
Koshyari asked Thackeray to issue suitable instructions to Samant for his "unwarranted intervention".
Major cities of the state like Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, where headquarters of prominent universities are located, are highly affected by COVID-19, it noted.