CNLU Patna students won a first small concession today in their fight opposing the appointment of NUJS Kolkata vice chancellor Prof Ishwara Bhat to head up their institution, suspending their protests for two days, according to two student sources.
With CNLU vice chancellor A Lakshminath’s term having expired yesterday (19 March), CNLU has now appointed retired Patna high court judge, Justice Mridula Mishra, to be the institution’s interim vice chancellor “to look after the day-to-day work of the University” until further notice, according to the notification dated 20 March.
The initial plan had been to extend Lakshminath's term for another month, according to students, but their opposition to his extension as well as to his replacement, Bhat, both of whom have been unpopular with students.
A delegation of CNLU students met the university's chancellor, the Patna high court chief justice Rajendra Menon, today, with one student telling us: “He sympathetically entertained the grievances of the students of CNLU and affirmatively assured that an inquiry commission would be constituted within a span of two days to investigate the charges levied by the CNLU students against the administrative mismanagement.
“Meanwhile on assurances so given, the CNLU students show cooperation with the chancellor and have decided to stand off the protest for two days.”
While some oral assurances had reportedly been made to students by the registrar that Bhat would not be appointed to CNLU before the inquiry committee's report was made public (as it had been alleged that the unfavourable report had been buried by the Bhat administration), one student told us they would not back down until they received such an assurance in writing.
Instead, students claimed that Lakshminath had allegedly had himself locked into his residence since the protests started on Saturday, refusing to engage with students, with security guards telling students that the outgoing VC was not on the premises.
We have reached out to Lakshminath for comment by phone, but have received no response.
“Everywhere the kids are sitting down, everybody is sitting in scorching heat, while they're [the administration is] sitting inside, and not even talking to us,“ one student told us today from the protest.
However, in the afternoon today Lakshminath emerged and also went to see the chancellor with the registrar, with an appointment after the students. We understand that he has now returned to his campus residence, with the doors locked again.
However, he has still not talked to students.
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1) It will be a mixed report against Bhat, partly because Mohan Gopal and Faizan Mustafa are on good terms with Bhat.
2) Bar & Bench will highlight the positives and write a pro-Bhat piece, try and blame Menon, Chimni and MP Singh regimes (all are now old and retired, and of no use to Bar & Bench).
3) Legally India will try to be more balanced and highlight the negatives, but Bhat's troll army will flood the internet and social media and distort the narrative. They will also force Kian to make edits.
4) Among MSM, Telegraph will give a pro-Bhat slant, TOI will highlight the negatives.
5) Bhat will stay on at NUJS for another 2 years, wait for things to die down at CNLU, and then shift to CNLU after retirement. Justice Mishra will look after CNLU for 2 years.
6) Before leaving, Bhat will promote will cronies in the faculty (some of who have been furiously supporting him on Legally India).
I do think most important for the students in CNLU to know is this - everything set and done, as hard as it may be to believe, Prof. Bhat is definitely student friendly. In fact, in our college when the other bodies of faculty and administrators refuse to accept the most genuine requests of students Prof. Bhat has always given a kind ear (at least a hearing, every single time!). More importantly, his role in ousting a corrupt Registrar cannot be exaggerated. In fact, his relationship with the previous SJAs was very cordial and very mutually beneficial. It is a testament to the student body that NUJS achieved 100% placements but I do feel the same would be impossible with a VC being portrayed as terribly as this. Don't mistake his mild demeanour for inaction and please do not fall prey to old agendas. It makes for good news pieces but might not necessarily be true!
And it is also a fact that during MP Singh's tenure the faculty had Shamnad Basheer, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Pritam Baruah, Chinmayi Arun, Vishwas Devaiah, Danel Mathew etc etc ---- compare with the faculty today.
And during Madhav Menon's tenure the faculty had Vikramjeet Banerjee, who recently became additional Solicitor General.
As for moot funding, the other VCs also wrote to lawyers and arranged it. No big deal.
zeenews.india.com/education/60-educational-institutions-get-full-autonomy-is-your-college-on-the-list-2092048.html
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/jnu-among-60-universities-colleges-to-get-major-autonomy-boost/articleshow/63389305.cms
Public institution and private administration
Long live the revolution.
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