Bihar governor meets Nitish Kumar to defuse university crisis, then flies to Delhi

Bihar governor Phagu Chauhan left for Delhi after his meeting with chief minister Nitish Kumar. In Delhi, he is scheduled to meet Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, among others.

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar called on Governor Phagu Chauhan on Wednesday in the wake of growing differences between the Raj Bhawan and the state government over the next steps to be taken after corruption charges were levelled against some vice-chancellors, people aware of the matter said.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar called on Bihar governor Phagu Chauhan against the backdrop of controversies around multiple vice-chancellors of the state’s universities. (HT Photo/Santosh Kumar)

Governor Chauhan was seen to be going soft on vice-chancellors suspected of corruption and other irregularities. Nitish Kumar and the state’s education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary have advocated a harsher line against top university officials suspected to have crossed the line.

In a formal communication to the governor ahead of their meeting, Choudhary said Nitish Kumar asked Raj Bhavan to order a “comprehensive inquiry” into the “serious’ charges levelled by Prof Md Qudus, vice-chancellor of Maulana Mazharul Haq Arabic and Persian University, against his predecessor.

Wednesday’s meeting, viewed as an attempt to defuse the crisis, started at 12 noon and lasted for about half an hour. An hour later, governor Phagu Chauhan left for national capital Delhi where he was scheduled to meet Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, among others.

Vijay Kumar Choudhary said he was not aware of the agenda for Kumar’s meeting with the governor but believes that it might be linked to the controversies around some vice-chancellors. “When the chief minister and governor meet, the conversation usually revolves around a whole range of issues,” he said. In the same breath, Choudhary added: “Higher education needs to be away from any kind of controversy as public perception is very important, and the CM always wants that.”

Wednesday noon’s meeting between the two dignitaries came hours after the governor’s office changed its insistence on letting Magadh University vice-chancellor Rajendra Prasad continue despite a vigilance raid at his house and office last week.

Late on Tuesday evening, Raj Bhavan notified that Rajendra Prasad has suddenly gone on medical leave for a month. And unlike in the past when the vice-chancellor of another university was given additional charge, Raj Bhavan named Magadh University’s pro-vice-chancellor Vibhuti Narayan Singh to hold the fort.

Magadh University’s finance officer Dharmendra Kumar Tripathi has put in his papers citing personal reasons.

A government official said these changes indicated that there may be a change in Raj Bhavan’s approach in handling top university officials and more officials under a cloud could be eased out.

After Nitish Kumar’s meeting with governor Chauhan, two names for appointment of vice-chancellor in Patna’s Pataliputra University and pro-vice-chancellor in Nalanda Open University (Patna) were also cleared.

Prof RK Singh has been appointed vice-chancellor of Pataliputra University. Singh is from Bipin Tripathi Kumaon Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand, formerly known as Kumaon Engineering College. Sanjay Kumar, principal of BD College, Patna has been appointed pro-vice-chancellor of Nalanda Open University. “These were pending for a long time and have been cleared,” Robert L Chongthu, principal secretary to the governor, said.

Pataliputra University has been without a full-time vice-chancellor for nearly a year. Lalit Narayan Mithila University (Darbhanga) vice-chancellor SP Singh, who was accused of corruption by another vice-chancellor, had been holding additional charge of Pataliputra University.

Social analyst NK Choudhary said that the appointments should not put a lid on the larger issue of corruption in the institutions of higher learning. “Appointments are a routine affair and should be done transparently. It should not be reduced to give and take between the government and the Raj Bhawan. After so much hue and cry over corruption, it must be taken to its logical conclusion. A king should not only be honest but also appear to be honest,” he added.