Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit alleged corruption in the appointment of Vice Chancellors to TN universities in the past and claimed that he was changing the system now. He was speaking at an event at Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal in Chennai when he made the allegation.
According to reports, the Governor said that he was disheartened when he came to Tamil Nadu as people told him that crores of money have been exchanged in the appointment of Vice Chancellors to universities. He also said that he began to change that situation by appointing VCs based on merit.
Claiming that he has, till date, appointed nine VCs based on merit to TN universities, the Governor said that nobody can raise an accusatory finger against him regarding any of those appointments. He also added that the situation has started getting better and that it would take time to change the entire system.
The Governor is the chancellor of the public universities in the state.
Reacting to the Governor’s claims of corruption in VC appointments, KP Anbazhagan, the Minister for Higher Education said that the Tamil Nadu government had no say in those appointments and that it was entirely in the hands of the Governor.
Fisheries minister D Jayakumar also said that if the names of those who engaged in corruption were made public by the Governor, strict action would be taken against them.
The leader of the Opposition and the president of DMK, MK Stalin said that instead of talking about corruption, the Governor must take steps to remove Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam from their posts since they are both accused of corruption. He also added that this accusation by the TN governor comes a day after he met TN Chief Minister.