Communist Party of India (CPI) legislature party leader C. Divakaran has demanded Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s resignation and a public apology from him in the light of the Kerala High Court judgment quashing the government decision to remove B. Ashok, IAS, as Vice-Chancellor the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
Mr. Divakaran, who was Minister for Food and Animal Husbandry in the LDF Cabinet, said that the High Court verdict was a blow to Mr. Chandy and his government. While responding to notice for an adjournment motion given by him in the Assembly, both Mr. Chandy and Law Minister K.M. Mani had claimed that there was nothing illegal in the decision to dispense with the services of Dr. Ashok. He was appointed for five years by the LDF government on December 29, 2010, and removed by the UDF government on October 24, 2011.
The decision to remove him as Vice-Chancellor was taken by a lobby which also included some senior bureaucrats. The High Court had not only frowned upon the decision, but also asked the government to reinstate him to the post. Dr. Ashok’s removal from the post should also be seen against the backdrop of recent revelations about ‘shocking’ corruption in the award of contract for construction work at the university, Mr. Divakaran said.
Contract to private firm
The LDF government had entrusted various construction works proposed to be undertaken using Rs.165 crore sanctioned by the Centre to the civil wing of the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
However, the UDF government intervened in the matter and took steps to hand over the work to a Kozhikode-based private company. The decision to cancel the contract awarded to the BSNL unilaterally, make the tender norms lighter and award the work to a private agency was taken by a meeting convened at the office of the Chief Secretary on June 16, 2012.
A prominent UDF legislator also had attended the meeting, he said.
The government argument that the contract given to the BSNL was cancelled because it did not come under the purview of the Central Vigilance Commission was unfounded. The government should immediately reinstate Dr. Ashok, cancel contract given to private agencies and restore academic autonomy to the fledgling university, Mr. Divakaran said.
The CPI leader refused to be drawn into a discussion on the CPI(M) Central committee decision to publicly censure Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan and said that those were internal organisational matters of the CPI(M) and did not call for any reaction from him or other LDF partners.
