New JNU VC, Santishree Pandit, appointed despite her corrupt past

The appointment of Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the new vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday was followed by outrage on Twitter and increased concerns of JNU students over their future at the esteemed institution.

Past history of corruption:

Pandit who had been appointed by the Centre has been found guilty of corruption in the past. The charges were uncovered by Savitribai Phule Pune University’s vigilance report wherein it was discovered that Pandit had been admitting students into various courses between 2002-2007 on the seats reserved for Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) during her tenure as the director of the International Students Centre (ISC) in Pune University.

While she lost out on six increments, there seems to have been no stern action taken against her as she went on to become the first woman Vice-Chancellor of JNU, one of the country’s most prestigious institutions.

An inquiry committee was then constituted by Narendra Jadhav over the allegations by university senate member, Atul Bagul, who filed an RTI over the issue but was initially denied information.

When Bagul’s RTI received a proper response after a struggle, the committee was set up and an investigation was launched into the matter, the committee found that Pandit was admitting ineligible students, who had passed HSC in Maharashtra and secured only 50-60 percent, into prominent colleges.

Following the report of the committee, DNA published a report quoting Bagul where he said that the members of the ISC had admitted to receiving monetary benefits from Pandit to facilitate the admission of ineligible students.

The allegations and proof of corruption were overlooked by the Center during Pandit’s appointment and her political leaning has seemed to work in her favour.

A former JNUSU president N Sai Balaji has alleged that he was not allowed to register for the new semester since he did not pay a fine for allegedly defacing the walls of the campus.

Following a “proctorial inquiry”, Balaji was found guilty of pasting posters on the campus wall and was fined Rs 6,000 in October last year. He was directed to pay the fine within 10 days but he didn’t.

“The old VC imposed fine on me along with other student activists for pasting posters claiming it’s ‘defacement of campus’. The new VC has denied me admission for not paying the FINE! JNU has a long legacy of walls speaking for students. Now it’s a crime to continue the legacy!” he said in a Facebook post.

Controversial tweets:

On Monday, post her appointment an outrage erupted on Twitter as controversial tweets from Pandit’s alleged account surfaced on social media, following which the account was deleted and she has denied ever having a Twitter account.

Pandit who was formerly a Political Science professor at the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Savitribai Phule University in Maharashtra, has time and again spewed hate against Muslims on Twitter, calling the religious minority, ‘Jihadis’.

The 59-year-old, who is also an alumna of JNU, has even criticised the protesting farmers.

Pandit also called for a ban on the funding towards the universities of Jamia Millia Islamia and St Stephens as the students protested against the unconstitutional Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Pandit’s tweets also reflect a soft spot for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassinator Nathuram Godse.

Her previous tweets that have surfaced point towards her Islamophobia and hate towards religious minorities especially Muslims, which has led to outrage over her appointment on the platform.

However, the new VC has denied that these statements were made by her and said that she “never had” a Twitter account.

“I didn’t have a Twitter account… It has been found out that it has been hacked and somebody internally from JNU has done this. The point is, many people are unhappy that I am the first woman V-C.” she told the Indian Express.

She further claimed that reliable sources informed her that the account was the handiwork of some people from JNU. However, there is no clarification on the matter till now.

(With inputs from PTI)