Passing the muck

Within days of the CVC8217;s investigations into UGC irregularities, HRD Minister Arjun Singh became the first one to distance himself from a UGC function last week. Singh, who had handpicked Sukhdeo Thorat for the post of UGC Chairman, did not turn up for the function. The CVC probe had generated quite a flutter in the Shastri Bhavan corridors, especially after two of the top HRD bureaucrats had pointed out concerns on the controversial project. Is it any wonder then that Higher Education Secretary R P Agrawal hasn8217;t given Thorat an appointment for the past one week?