ABVP stages protest outside Raj Bhawan over V-C demand
RANCHI: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a sit-in protest on Monday in front of Raj Bhawan to mount pressure on Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan, who is also the chancellor of all state universities in Jharkhand, to appoint regular vice-chancellors in five of the seven universities in the state, among other demands.
The national general secretary of the organisation, Yagvalkya Shukla, told Hindustan Times, “There was an outcry in the state when the chief minister could not be reached for 18 hours, but no one is worried about the appointment of vicechancellors.”
“In many universities in the state, there is no vice-chancellor or pro-vice-chancellor for 264 days, yet the governor and the chief minister are silent,” he added.
An ABVP member supported Shukla, stating that due to the absence of regular vice-chancellors, there is no one to address concerns such as late sessions, corrupt practices in academic works, outsourcing of staff and agencies, and delays in student union elections, among other issues.
The ABVP member further said that the union attempted to draw the attention of Raj Bhawan to the problem but realised that it had “slipped into selective listening mode,” with no one addressing the genuine issues of the universities. “We also attempted to seek time for a discussion on the matter, but the same was not granted, leaving us with no option other than staging a dharna,” he added.
An associate professor of Koylanchal University justified the demand, stating, “Students’ demand is justified. It is a matter of concern that Kolhan University, Nilamber-Pitamber University, Vinoba Bhave University, Sidho Kanhu Murmu
University (SKMU), and Koylanchal University are running without vice-chancellors.”
Another assistant professor of SKMU echoed the sentiment, saying, “Due to the absence of a regular vice-chancellor, the directions given by Raj Bhawan are not properly followed.”
“In at least five colleges of SKMU, there is controversy over the post of professor-into charge and department heads as the direction given by Raj Bhawan on June 22, 2023, to respect seniority is not being followed,” he added.
A Raj Bhawan insider said that while the governor is intent on appointing vice-chancellors, suitable candidates for the post are not being found. “The process of appointing vice-chancellors was disrupted after governor C.P. Radhakrishnan nullified the search committee panel for selecting new vice-chancellors on December 25 last year,” the insider said.
He explained, “The search committee, headed by Jharkhand high court Judge Rongan Mukhopadhyay, had invited 50 out of 240 candidates who applied for the job for an interaction. Out of them, it shortlisted 12 candidates (three each for one VC) and submitted them in July to the governor, who later consulted with the then-chief minister Hemant Soren. However, after six months, the governor cancelled the panel, finding none suitable.”
When contacted for comment on the matter, principal secretary to the governor, Nitin Mandan Kulkarni, said, “The process is ongoing.”