RAIPUR: Baldev Bhai Sharma having a strong RSS-background appointed as new Vice-Chancellor (VC) by the Chhattisgarh Governor, took charge amid the protest by section of students on Thursday and in the presence of police force deployed in the campus of the state-owned Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism and Mass Communication in Raipur.
The students, many of them from the Congress' students wing NSUI, who staged demonstration and voiced their choice to have "scholarly VC with good track record in the field of journalism instead of someone who eulogises RSS ideology or support any political ideology". Though the students who are members of BJP’s youth wing ABVP welcomed the decision of the Governor citing there is no criteria specified on ideology as the eligibility for appointment of VC.
Couple of days ago the Governor Anusuiya Uike appointed Baldev Sharma as the VC of the journalism university. The Bhupesh Baghel government apparently irked with the Rajbhawan’s decision stated that the "Governor has done her work, now the state will do its work". Sharma was editor of ‘Panchjanya’ — the RSS mouthpiece.
Incidentally, during a hearing at the high court on Wednesday on the petition challenging the earlier decision of the state government of entrusting additional charge of VC to the Raipur range Commissioner, the government informed the court that the advertisement issued by it earlier for appointment of the VC has been cancelled. With this, it remains to be seen if there is any attempt declaring the entire selection process of the VC as void or even nullifying the appointment of Sharma as the VC.
It was on March 7, an year ago when the previous VC had resigned. But almost a year later, the journalism university stared at uncertainty as the students yearned for academic scholarship, which was missing owing to the “much delay” in the appointment of a new full-time vice-chancellor.