HUBLI: The future of the tainted former vice chancellors J Shashidhar Prasad, Saeeda Akhtar and P L Prabhakaran is likely to be decided in the upcoming Assembly Session that starts from Thursday, while the ruling BJP plans to discuss inquiry commission reports on them.
Former VC of University of Mysore Shashidhar Prasad had allegedly violated recruitment norms while appointing 162 teaching and nonteaching staff in 200607. Justice Rangavithalachar Commission which was set up in 2009 to probe the process, submitted its report to the government on June 9, 2010 and recommended to file criminal cases against Prasad. However, Governor H R Bharadwaj intervened and insisted that the government not file criminal cases against him.
Former VC of Karnataka State Women's University, Bijapur, Saeeda Akhtar, was allegedly involved in illegal appointment of 92 teaching staff in 2005 and financial misappropriation in the varsity. Justice M P Chinnappa Commission and Justice S R Venkatesh Murthy Commission were set up to probe the charges of financial irregularities and recruitment scandal separately. However, the reports of both the agencies have not been disclosed.Another former VC, P L Prabhakaran, was allegedly involved in 2006 PGCET Rank Scandal in Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences. The CBI probed the scandal and filed an FIR against him; it had asked the state government to file criminal cases and conduct CoD inquiry on entire medical PG Common Entrance Test (PGCET).
A common thread that runs in the three instances is that they broke out in 2006 and then Opposition BJP leaders, including D H Shankar Murthy, Aravind Limbavali and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP) urged the then government to take action against them.
Limbavali, who became the minister for higher education minister much later could not make much headway in pursuing the commission reports.
This time, though, the ruling BJP is planning to raise the issue in the council.
Former minister for education MLC Basavaraj Horatti told Express that JD(S) is mulling over boycotting the session to teach a lesson to the government which has been misusing the post of Assembly Speaker.
"We have urged the government to take action on these scandals. If we attend the session, we will engage in a fair discussion.
"BJP MLC Arun Shahapur, however, said that they have been trying to raise the issue in the council on numerous occasions. "The government has sought legal opinion on commission reports and it is too late to take action against them. The quality of higher education in the state has become a big challenge; curbing corruption in universities can be realised only if the guilty are punished. Hence, we will raise the issue in the council in this session," he detailed.