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Journalism of Courage
The Tamil Nadu government Friday ordered an inquiry against Anna University Vice-Chancellor M K Surappa following complaints of financial irregularities, and malpractices in semester examinations and re-evaluation.
The probe is to be headed by retired high court judge Justice P Kalaiyarasan and will be carried out under provisions of Anna University Act, 1978.
The V-C confirmed that he had received a letter from the government in this regard. “These are beyond my imagination. No comments,” he said.
According to the government order, the “allegations are serious in nature” and the report should be ready within three months. The probe, the order said, will include functioning of the university, temporary appointments and recruitments made in academic and administrative sides and the revenue earned during Surappa’s tenure.
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The probe was ordered based on complaints by A Suresh, C Varadharajan, Selladurai of Save Anna University forum and R Adhikesavan.
Surappa, former director of IIT Ropar and honorary professor at IISc Bangalore, was appointed directly by Raj Bhawan. The appointment of a non-Tamil V-C—Surappa hails from Karnataka—was criticised by some political parties.
Surappa triggered a row when he introduced Bhagavad Gita as an optional paper in one of the technical streams.
Last month, the state government publicly criticised Surappa for applying for the Institution of Eminence (IoE) tag. While the government’s stand was that it would affect the 69 per cent reservation in the state, it was also miffed that the V-C did not consult the state government before applying for the status.
