T.N. Prathapan, the Congress MP of Kerala’s Thrissur and a member of the HRD parliamentary standing committee, has written to Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, asking for a fact-finding committee to probe alleged financial and administrative irregularities of Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty.
The letter on June 28 stated 12 allegations, ranging from fraudulent use of Santiniketan Trust funds to the VC’s many suspension orders.
The MP on Wednesday said allegations from Visva-Bharati teachers and students prompted him to write the letter. “I’ve been receiving allegations from teachers and students of Visva-Bharati on the VC’s malpractices and undemocratic actions. The Sangh Parivar (VC Chakrabarty is deemed close to the saffron camp) does the same in all premier institutions….It should be addressed and resisted.”
He added Visva-Bharati has a legacy, and one who doesn’t respect it shouldn’t be the VC. “Numerous teachers and students were suspended or faced other action for…dissent. It is not acceptable,” he said.
In his letter, the Thrissur MP sought Chakrabarty be sent on leave till the probe, by a panel with a retired high court judge on it, ends.
Varsity public relations officer Anirban Sircar did not reply to calls or texts from this paper on the MP’s allegations.
The MP’s letter also accused Chakrabarty of not appointing persons in key posts (registrar, finance officer and five directors) during his tenure of two-and-a-half years, and of misbehaving with faculty members and enforcing pay cuts without their consent.
Prathapan attached documents to support his allegations.
The Kerala MP’s letter prompted some Visva-Bharati teachers to ask MPs from Bengal and other states to write similar letters to the Centre too.
