Governor appoints Congress worker as head of GU VC search panel

Ahmedabad, 20 December 2013

Gujarat Governor has appointed a Congress worker Anamik Shah as Chairman of search committee to appoint the new Vice Chancellor of the Gujarat University.

Anamik Shah, professor in chemistry department of Saurashtra University, was appointed in publicity committee of Gujarat Congress in July 2012. Publicity committee was formed under the leadership of former Gujarat Congress president Siddharth Patel for party’s campaign for Gujarat assembly general elections.

Governor Dr. Kamla Beniwal is former Congress minister in Rajasthan. Her son contested recently concluded Rajasthan assembly polls on Congress ticket, but was defeated by rival BJP candidate. Governor Beniwal had recently appointed Gujarat Congress spokesperson Dr. Manish Doshi in search panel for the appointment of Kutch University’s new Vice Chancellor.

With Anamik Shah’s appointment, the search panel for appointment of Gujarat University’s new Vice Chancellor is now complete. The committee will now hold its first meeting in next 15 days and officially invite resumes from aspirants for the post of the VC. The committee will expedite the process of appointed the full time vice-chancellor and the appointment may happen as early as February.

Earlier, the academic council and the executive council had appointed VC of MS University Yogesh Singh as one of the three members of the search committee, while the Joint Board of Vice-Chancellors had appointed Ambedkar University VC Manoj Soni as the second member of the three member search panel.

Ever since the then vice-chancellor Adesh Pal was asked to step down in August, the university has been functioning with pro-VC Mukul Shah as acting vice-chancellor. Shah’s term will expire in July 2014.

A list of BJP men as Vice Chancellors is long too

It seems Gujarat Congress is lately in “corrective mood”, only after a long list of appointments of BJP men as Vice Chancellors. Present active Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University Shri Mukul Shah is former BJP Mayor of Ahmedabad city. Kutch University saw Shashiranjan Yadav as Vice Chancellor. Yadav was responsible for BJP’s IT related poll campaign during year 2007 assembly elections in Gujarat. Bodakdev ward BJP president Parimal Trivedi was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University. Rajkot city BJP president Kamlesh Joshipura was made Saurashtra University Vice Chancellor. Mahendra Padalia was Rajkot city BJP president. He was made Vice Chancellor of Saurashtra University.Sumukarly former BJP MLA Kanubhai Mavani was also made Vice Chancellor of Saurshtra University.