BU Syndicate meeting turns out to be stormy again

BANGALORE - 06.12.2010 : Students at a laboratory inside Bangalore University Jnana Bharathi Campus, off Bangalore-Mysore road, known for its greenery and several species of trees that support a diversity of birds. Five lakes have also been rejuvenated in the campus, in Bangalore on December 06, 2010. Photo K. Murali Kumar.

The special meeting of Bangalore University's Syndicate on Friday turned out to be stormy yet again with four members walking out of the meeting in protest against the constitution of the Local Inquiry Committees (LICs).

When the Syndicate sought to approve the reports of 30 LICs, as discussed and passed by the Academic Council on May 3, four members — C.K. Jagadish Prasad, K.V. Acharya, D.S. Krishna and T.H. Sreenivasaiah — objected to the proposal on the grounds that a writ petition questioning the constitution of the LICs was still pending before the High Court.

Walkout

When the Syndicate approved the reports of the LICs by a majority decision, the four members walked out of the meeting.

Later, Mr. Sreenivasaiah told

The Hindu a writ petition filed by a couple of Syndicate members seeking the inclusion of Syndicate members in the LICs was still pending before the High Court. “How can a decision on the reports of the LICs be approved?” he said.

Apart from the four who walked out of the meeting, two others expressed their dissent, Mr. Sreenivasaiah claimed.

A press statement from Bangalore University said the approval of the LIC's recommendations will be limited to the courses indicated in the application filed by the colleges. “In certain colleges, where there is a difference of opinion among the members and subject experts,it was resolved to send a separate committee to visit these colleges and submit reports within one week,” the statement added.

A proposal on Vice Chancellor Prabhu Dev's visit to Boston to attend the International Basava Conference during July 2-3 also sparked off resentment among a section of the Syndicate members, who strongly opposed Bangalore University funding the tour.

Later, the Syndicate approved the visit without any financial commitment on the part of Bangalore University.

“When the agenda was circulated, the proposal was for the university to bear the expenditure. But, we opposed it. Hence, a clarification was inserted that the university will not bear any expenditure,” Mr. Sreenivasaiah said.

Road repair

The Syndicate resolved to approve payment of a maximum of Rs. 1 crore from the Bangalore University to Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to repair and asphalt the road on the Jnanabharathi campus on the basis of a letter by the Executive Engineer of the BBMP. The university also requested the BBMP to expedite the works in order to help the traffic plying on these roads.

However, the Syndicate meeting served to once again expose the strong differences among the members with a statement from the university accusing Dr. K.V. Acharya of using unparliamentary language against the Vice-Chancellor and Syndicate member K. Puttaraju. The meeting resolved to issue a show cause notice to Dr. Acharya and bring the matter to the notice of the Government and the Chancellor. Further, a delegation of the Syndicate would also meet the Government and Higher Education Minister, a statement said.