The State government tried to stay clear of the controversy over the issue of a person from outside Tamil Nadu as Vice-Chancellor of Anna University by stating that it had no role in the selection and was not consulted on the issue.
The State government or the department of Higher Education did not have any role in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor and the appointments were the prerogative of the Governor, said the Minister for Higher Education K.P. Anbalagan.
At a press meet, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said as Chancellor, the Governor appointed the Vice-Chancellors and that the government had no role in the selection process. He said it was a practice to get the appointments of Vice-Chancellors cleared by the Chief Minister all these years, although the rules did not stipulate it.
However, Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam speakingto presspersons in Villupuram on Saturday expressed concern over the appointment of a candidate from Karnataka as Vice-Chancellor, although a number of academic stalwarts from Tamil Nadu could have been considered for the post. Mr. Shanmugam that the criticism against the government should have been directed at the Governor. “The State government has nothing to do with the appointment. A three-member search committee recommends the names to the Governor. Further consultations have not been held and no intimation sent to the government. As the Chancellor, the Governor appoints the V-C,” he said. Tamil Nadu has the distinction of having produced a number of experts who had bagged Nobel Prize and awards instituted in the name of the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Cauvery issue
Referring to the Centre seeking clarification from the Supreme Court on framing of scheme in the Cauvery issue, he said the court had ruled that 177 tmcft. was the share of Tamil Nadu in the Cauvery waters. It was the duty of the Centre to implement the Supreme Court verdict and constitute the Cauvery Management Board. But there appeared to an attempt to shirk the responsibility on several flimsy arguments. This only exposed the politicisation of the issue by the Centre, he said.
TTV terms it an insult
The appointment of Mr. Surappa was an ‘insult to the qualified academicians’ in the State, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, the leader of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, said here on Saturday.
Speaking on the sidelines of his party-led relay protest in Dharmapuri, he said the last two consecutive appointments was an insult to academicians in the State. “It appears that the Centre didn’t find enough qualified people in the State.”
