Consider the facts. A suave Dinesh Singh, internationally acclaimed as an academic in the field of mathematics. Taking him on, HRD Minister Smriti Irani whose academic credentials to be the Minister in charge of education, have been questioned by some.
Since the entire fracas over FYUP (four year undergraduate program) broke out, Mr Singh has been called many names. For a man not used to being in the limelight, it has been a rather controversial last few months. Leading all the way upto a show cause notice being served on him by Smriti Irani’s HRD Ministry, seeking his dismissal.
The Vice Chancellor has sent a detailed 26 page rejoinder to the Minister.
Read the full response here.
He simply dismisses the entire move to remove him from his post as unconstitutional.
Broadly, this is how he has hit back at Smriti Irani:
- He says the decision of introducing the 4-year-course was not his alone. So why is he being singled out for the blame?
- He questions the legal authority of the HRD Ministry or the HRD Minister to even send a show cause notice to Delhi University’s Vice Chancellor.
- He states emphatically that he cannot be held guilty of dereliction of duty.
- He denies allegations that he used funds meant for OBC students, to purchase computers for the Unversity.
The reply apart, a fundamental question is this - Why is Dinesh Singh being targeted by the HRD Minister as if he was a real villain of the story?
Yes its true, a section of Delhi University Teachers Association led by the DUTA President Nandita Narain herself have been up in arms against the Vice Chancellor. But should he have been show caused without any meeting taking place between the HRD minister and him?
Simply put, is Dinesh Singh being targeted due to his proximity to the previous UPA regime? Is he being targeted for being a friend of the previous HRD Minister Kapil Sibal?
Read the reply sent by Mr Singh to the HRD ministry, decide for yourself.
Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh’s formal response to the show cause notice sent by Union HRD minister Smriti Irani.
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