Several contentious issues including sexual and mental harassment of students by Hindi Department Head were to be discussed in the meeting
Nagpur: Just two minutes!! A dubious chapter was written in the Senate meeting of RTMNU as the Vice Chancellor Subhash Chaudhari adjourned the meeting on Thursday in just 120 seconds. Even as the Senate faced several contentious issues, including the harassment of students in the Hindi Department of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), the meeting witnessed high-voltage drama over the VC move at NU’s new premises on Amravati Road throughout the day. The abrupt ending of the Senate meeting saw members and student activists protesting and raising slogans against the VC and pro-VC Sanjay Dudhe, forcing them to cancel the adjournment, and convene the same meeting again in April first week, according to media reports.
The reports said that as soon as the Senate meeting started, Arunrao Kalode Mahavidyalaya Principal Damodar Satpute demanded an end to the meeting. Just a handful of members were present at that time. He was seconded by NU Dean for Science and Technology faculty Prashant Maheshwary, who is Director in JD College of Engineering, where VC Chaudhari was Principal earlier. The VC then announced the end of the meeting and the National Anthem was played. All this took place in just two minutes.
Veteran Senate members said never in NU’s history had any meeting ended without members speaking even a single word. When other Senate members arrived between 10.30-11 am, they were shocked to hear that the meeting had been adjourned abruptly. As the VC and pro-VC had already left the premises, the members mobbed Registrar Raju Hiwase, seeking an explanation from him on the sudden move, reports stated.
The media reports further said that when the Registrar failed to answer their queries, the angry members wrote a letter to Chancellor B S Koshyari requesting him to re-convene the meeting since many issues and agenda of the March 10 meeting were yet to be discussed. When the VC returned to the campus at 3 pm, the members stormed into his chambers seeking an explanation on what they termed as “gross violation of their rights”. The VC, however, stuck to his stand, asserting that he had powers to do so.
The members insisted that he did not have powers to abruptly end the meeting without consulting most of them or without following proper procedure. Heated arguments took place between the VC, pro-VC and members, including Manmohan Bajpayee, Vishnu Changde, Shivani Dani, and others. The VC did not allow the media to sit in the meeting, stating that the discussions were private.
According to media reports, when Chaudhari refused to listen to the members’ requests after an hour-long discussion, they walked out raising slogans against him calling his act a “murder of democracy” and “suppressing the students’ voices”. They said that the VC’s move to end the proceedings was pre-planned, as he wanted to avoid contentious issues. The Vice Chancellor did not want to address the topic of sexual, physical and mental harassment by Hindi Department Head, and continuation of contract with black-listed MKCL without floating tenders, and lack of planning for NU’s 100- year celebrations, they charged.
Later, activists belonging to ABVP and BJYM barged into the NU conference room, where the VC was conducting interviews for the Selection Committee. After they started raising slogans, Chaudhari, who had justified his decision to end the Senate, relented and agreed to convene the meeting in April first week. The protestors had threatened to force the VC to cancel the interviews, unless their demands were met.
The contentious issues:
* Allegations of physical and mental harassment of two PhD students by Hindi Department Head
* One victim was to visit NU to meet Senate members and narrate her ordeal
* Continuation of contract with black-listed MKCL without floating tenders
* Failure to draft plan for centenary celebrations
* Reply by State Government to MLC Abhijit Wanjari’s demand for Rs 100 crore for 100th year celebrations
