TNCC chief slams Governor over V-C’s appointment

Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport, Thirunavukkarasar said that the government and the AIADMK were both at the disposal of the Centre and the Union government’s interference in the administration of the state is gradually increasing. 

Referring to the recent appointment of Vice-Chancellors, the TNCC chief said that the norm was that the Chief Minister would select the candidates through the search committee formed for the purpose.

“On finalising the candidates, the Chief Minister would forward the list of candidates to be appointed to the Governor, who is the Chancellor of the state-run universities. The recommendation of the Chief Minister would be approved by the Governor, who in turn would make a formal announcement on the appointment of the V-Cs. Whereas here, the Governor calls for an interview of the candidates and makes the selection directly. He had dissolved a search committee formed to appoint the V-C for Anna University too,” Thirunavukkarasar pointed out. 

Earlier, Dr P Duraisamy was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor for the Madras University, and Dr PP Chellathurai was appointed to the Madurai Kamaraj University, for a term of three years from the date of appointment. The appointment was revealed through an official statement from the Raj Bhavan on Friday. Both these universities along with the Chennai-based Anna University remained headless for over a year after the previous incumbents demitted office at the end of their respective terms. 

The appointments of V-Cs were embroiled in a prolonged litigation, which also resulted in a considerable delay. Meanwhile, the Madras High Court directed the state to appoint V-Cs within a specific time frame to ensure continuation of effective functioning. While the Dr Ambedkar Law and Anna universities still remain without a head, the TN fisheries University was the first to get a chief, when the Governor appointed Dr Felix as its V-C following an interview, nearly a month ago.