PU V-C involved in illegal acts: Senators

A day after the Hindustan Times reported Panjab University vice chancellor Arun Kumar Grover saying that PU was controlled by mafia and that senators were vultures, the PU senators on Monday hit back, triggering a major controversy. They allege that the V-C turned against them as they refused to toe his line and opposed his ‘illegal’ acts.

The senators raked up issues such as appointment of the VC’s wife in the music department which they allege was done in violation of all rules and regulations. “That’s just one case, the VC’s outburst is a fallout of our opposition to his illegal acts which are in conformity with neither the rules of the university nor University Grants Commission, minister, education minister, UT Adviser, and many former and present MLAs and MPs,” said syndic Ashok Goyal.

Despite being busy with elections on August 31, some senators planned to stage a protest against the V-C while others mull legal recourse. “The VC has lost the right to call himself an academician, researcher and an administrator,” added Goyal.

The VC alleged the senators were hostile towards him as he has been pressing for removal of ‘unauthorised’ persons who certain senators were protecting. “Their anger is because of items listed for the September 3 Senate meeting,” he said, while talking to HT on Sunday.

“But I will ensure these items aren’t deferred even if the meeting goes on until the next day.”

Goyal added that the flashpoint with Prof Grover ‘started as he wanted his wife’s appointment in music department while we opposed the unfair move’.

Goyal and another senator Tarlok Bandhu alleged the VC had been calling them names in unofficial meetings but denied it later. “Now he stands exposed. He doesn’t believe in democratic functioning,” they said.

They said the VC should have been mindful that the senate includes Punjab chief minister, the education minister, the UT Adviser, and many former and present MLAs and MPs.

UT’s audit department trashes V-C’s allegations

CHANDIGARH: Responding to the V-C’s allegations that some auditors with the UT administration were handin-glove with RTI activists to serve their ulterior motives, the local audit department has termed the allegations as baseless.

“The local audit department, under the UT administration, objected to the promotion of 80 PU teachers under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS). The V-C had got approval for these in violation of UGC regulation (second amendment),” an official with the audit department claimed.

He added that the V-C tried to get the varsity audit done by a private chartered accountants, but he could not throw us out.

He also claimed that the V-C had passed orders to admit the salary of registrar Colonel Gurjit Singh Chadha (retd) as fixed by the syndicate, but the audit department did not entertain this request.