Journalism of Courage
Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Raj Kumar has tendered his resignation citing “family reasons”, nearly 18 months before his extended term was to expire, with senior BJP leader and Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain saying that “the era of corruption has ended” in the varsity.
Prof Kumar submitted his resignation on January 10 and it was accepted by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also the PU Chancellor, on January 13. Dhankhar also instructed Dean (University Instructions) Renu Vig to “discharge the responsibility” of V-C from January 16, making her the first woman to hold the post.
A senior PU senator, privy to the developments, said, “Prof Kumar was asked to resign or face a probe. He decided to resign. He had visited the office of Chancellor twice between January 1 and January 10. Any decision on further course of action (against him) will be taken in the coming days”.
Meanwhile speaking to reporters, Jain, who is also the seniormost fellow at Panjab University, said many complaints regarding corruption in the PU had reached the reached the Vice-President’s Office and added that the Centre had zero tolerance towards corruption.
To a specific query, Jain, a two-time former MP from Chandigarh, said that he was not aware if Kumar was asked to resign. “I had met Vice-President Dhankar in this connection. I do not know what triggered Prof Kumar’s resignation…The era of corruption has ended in the PU. Raj Kumar has resigned. I thank the RSS-BJP leadership and zero tolerance to corruption policy of PM Narendra Modi,” Jain said.
He said for the “last many months, there was an atmosphere of uncertainty” in the PU. “There were mass irregularities in the functioning at PU,”Jain said but declined to comment on the nature of corruption in the PU or any direct complaint against the Prof Kumar. “We have to wait for some days. The fact is that Prof Kumar is gone and the era of uncertainty in the university has ended,” he said, adding that a search committee would be formed to select the new vice-chancellor.
Sources within the PU claimed that there were complaints of corruption in connection with the recruitment of over 100 employees in multi-tasking staff. A complaint regarding corruption had also reached the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO). There were also some other complaints, they said.
Prof Kumar did not respond to repeated calls.
Appointed as the 13th V-C of PU in July 2018, Prof Kumar was given a three-year extension in 2021, with his term set to expire in June 2024. Before joining PU, he was Director, Dean and Head of Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University.
He had had a tumultuous tenure with several run-ins with Panjab University Teachers’ Association as well as former members of the university’s senate and syndicate. He also had to face several student protests, and at one point the security around his house had to be beefed up.
