It is no news that last week’s reshuffle of bureaucrats was a huge surprise to outsiders. But it surprised even those who were otherwise keeping themselves informed of what was to come. Several officers were keen on knowing what led to the exit of Mohan Verghese Chunkath, who was accessible as Chief Secretary.
And what is also doing the rounds in the Secretariat is that whether there will be one more round of overhaul. This is based on the fact that some officials in the rank of Secretary have been holding their posts for more than two years.
They include K. Shanmugam (Finance), M. Rajaram (Information), Shanthini Kapoor (Special Programme Implementation), D. Sabitha (Education) and J. Radhakrishnan (Health). There is also another view that these officers may not be disturbed as they have made a mark in their fields.
For quite some time, reports have been appearing in the press about the reconstitution of the Board of Members of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
Though it is the Andhra Pradesh government that nominates Members, prominent personalities from other States, too, have been appointed to the Board as Members. If one were to go by information received by the Telugu-speaking journalists here, Tamil film and theatre personality S.Ve. Shekher is in the fray, and his name has been proposed by the BJP, which he joined in October 2013.
Mr. Shekher says he has no idea but the report that the party has considered his name is “a great honour and privilege.”
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A petition filed in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday by a Tuticorin-based private school teacher is likely to be a millstone around the neck of a State Minister accused of maintaining illicit intimacy with the teacher’s divorced wife. The petition sought a directive to the police to register a case against the Minister for allegedly abusing the teacher at the Sathankulam bus stand in November. It said the relationship between the married couple soured and ended in divorce only because of the alleged relationship between the woman and the Minister. The petition is likely to be listed for hearing before Justice S. Vaidyanathan on Monday.
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The series of protests staged by teachers of the Pachaiyappa’s group of colleges in the past few weeks is aimed at protecting a teacher who has been wronged by the Trust Board.
The Association of University Teachers has been demanding that the head of the Department of Mathematics be sent back to C.K.N. College at Cuddalore from Kancheepuram. The professor is a syndicate member of Tiruvalluvar University and has two more years to retire. She had questioned the propriety of the Trust Board in not replacing the principal who was found guilty of corruption in admission and examinations.
The university recommended a replacement for the principal. Insiders say the mathematics professor raised the issue of corruption charges against the principal at the syndicate meeting. The transfer means the professor will now report to the University of Madras and lose her position at the Syndicate.
