A former director of th e Bengaluru-based research institute has written to the Karnataka Governor urging him to take action against his former colleagues who allegedly discriminated against non-Brahmin directors in order to cover up financial irregularities.
According to a report in Kannada daily Prajavani, former director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) G Thimmaiah has written a letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala detailing alleged instances of harassment meted out to non-Brahmin directors of the institute. In the three-page letter, he also said that several of the directors had allegedly committed financial malpractices.
ISEC is registered as a society under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act and is governed by a board of directors who are elected from founding and life members of the society, and also include scholars and academicians, representatives of the central and state governments. The Governor is the President of the Society.
When contacted by The News Minute, Thimmaiah declined to comment. He said that he had written a letter on October 7, but refused to say whether he had obtained a response or even an acknowledgement from the Governor’s office.
Prajavani reported that Thimmaiah had named certain directors and alleged that they had conspired to remove BK Patnaik, who was a professor with IIT Kanpur, from his post as director because he was not a Brahmin. “This has lowered the dignity and respect of the institution,” Prajavani reported, quoting from Thimmaiah’s letter.
He also told Prajavani that other directors had moved a no confidence motion against him on August 1, following which he obtained a stay order from the Sessions Court on September 10. Despite this, he was allegedly forcibly removed by the police at the behest of certain directors, Thimmaiah told Prajavani.
Thimmaiah has also alleged financial irregularities committed by former directors, but it is unclear whether he has mentioned this in his complaint. He has urged the Governor to intervene and appoint a retired IAS officer as the administrative officer.