INDIA THIS WEEK FRIDAY OCTOBER 28, 2022 1 A W e e k l y N e w s p a p e r Fe a t u r i n g N e w s & Tr e n d s f r o m t h e I n d i a n S u b - C o n t i n e n t P u b l i s h e d f r o m t h e U S C a p i t a l Website: www.indiathisweek.online Vol. 30 No: 43 • WASHINGTON D.C • Phone: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 • e-mail: indiathisweekads@gmail.com • Friday • October 28, 2022 Rishi Sunak becomes British PM: The first person of Asian Indian descent New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): In a historic development, Britain got its first Asianorigin Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak to lead the nation. Sunak also becomes the first Indian-origin British Premier. Liz Truss, who stepped down as the PM of the United Kingdom on October 20, congratulated Sunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and the UK’s next Prime Minister. “Congratulations @RishiSunak on being appointed as Leader of the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister. You have my full support,” tweeted Truss. Here is a quick guide to the UK’s next PM Sunak. The former chancellor of the exchequer made a high-stakes gamble. He launched an attack that helped to end Boris Johnson’s premiership, put himself forward as his replacement, but ultimately lost to Liz Truss. Admitting defeat, he retreated to the parliamentary back benches. He lost to Liz Truss in September, but she resigned six weeks later. In the latest leadership contest, Sunak racked up the support of his fellow MPs early, and fast. He crossed the 100 nominations he needed long before the deadline – including from MPs that had previously backed Truss or Boris Johnson. He will become the first Indian-origin person to lead the UK – and at the age of 42, he is also the youngest person to take the office in more than 200 years. Sunak first publicly declared on Sunday morning that he would be standing in the contest. In a tweet, he wrote, “The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country.” Sunak, whose New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): On the occasion of Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted people and wished the festival brought them joy and well-being. “Wishing everyone a Happy Diwali. Diwali is associated with brightness and radiance. May this auspicious festival further the spirit of joy and well-being in our lives. I hope you have a wonderful Diwali with family and friends,” PM Modi said in a Twitter post. PresidentDroupadi Murmu also extended her greetings for the festival of light. “Happy Diwali to all countrymen! On this holy festival of light and joy, let us try to bring happiness to the lives of those in need by lighting the lamp of knowledge and energy. On this great festival, I pray for happiness and prosperity in the lives of all the countrymen,” tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan. On the eve of Diwali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Deepotsav’ celebrations in Ayodhya on Sunday. PM Modi offered ‘aarti’ at New Ghat, Saryu River in Ayodhya. Earthern lamps lit up on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya as part of the Deepotsav celebrations. On the eve of Deepawali, the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya turned into a sparkling utopia with innumerable diyas. parents came to the UK from East Africa in the 1960s, is of Indian descent. His father was a local doctor while his mother ran a pharmacy in southern England, something Sunak says gave him his desire to serve the public. He will also be the first Hindu to become British prime minister, securing the position on Diwali, the festival of lights that marks one of the most important days of the Hindu calendar. Sunak himself made history in 2020 when he lit Diwali candles outside 11 Downing Street, the official residence BRITISH PM SUNAK SEE PAGE 17 Diwali: May this festival further the spirit of joy, wellbeing: PM Modi wishes people on Diwali Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a visit to Ayodhya for taking part in the Deepotsav celebrations, on Sunday said the idea of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” is inspired by the values and the rule of Lord Ram. Reaching Ayodhya, PM Modi inspected the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra site. He offered prayers to Lord Ramlala Virajman in Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated all over India. Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” According to mythology, on this day Lord Ram returned to his kingdom Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman after defeating Ravan in Lanka and serving 14 years of exile. This festival is also widely associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.
Friday INDIA THIS WEEK Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 24 (ANI): The Indian Coast Guard has asked the fishermen to return with their boats as the fear of Cyclone Sitrang: IMD issues red alert for four North-East states October 28, 2022 New Delhi [India], October 25 (ANI): Under the influence of Cyclone Sitrang, a red alert indicating heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall has been issued for Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura on Monday. Widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rain at isolated places is very likely to occur over Tripura on Monday and Tuesday, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday. “Under Sitrang influence, widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms/lightning/ heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rain at isolated places is very likely to occur over Tripura on 24th & 25th October 2022,” IMD said in a press release. Earlier today, the West Bengal government was witnessed taking all and 120 km north-northeast of Barisal (Bangladesh),” IMD officials said. “The cyclone is very likely to continue to move northnortheastwards and weaken into a depression during next 6 hours and further into a well-marked low-pressure area during subsequent 6 hours,” it further said. Cyclone ‘Sitrang’ to cross Bangladesh coast the precautionery measures, including evacuation of people, and supply of relief material to shelters, to deal with possible devastation under the impact of Cyclone ‘Sitrang’. Civil defence teams are deployed at Bakkhali Sea Beach in South 24 Parganas. Tourists are not allowed to visit the beach and the shops have also been closed. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to the people to “stay alert” as there is a high chance of rain on Tuesday due to cyclone Sitrang. “There is a high chance of rain on October 25. There is an appeal to the people to avoid going out unnecessarily or to the sea areas including the Sundarbans. The state govt has made arrangements,” said CM Mamata Banerjee. The cyclonic storm “Sitrang” pronounced as “SiTrang” over the northwest and adjoining the central Bay of Bengal crossed the Bangladesh coast between Tinkona and Sandwip close to Barisal during 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm on Monday with a maximum sustained wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph, IMD said. “It lay centered at 11:30 pm on Sunday over coastal Bangladesh near latitude 23.70N and longitude 90.80E, about 40 km east of Dhaka, 50 km west-southwest of Agartala, The cyclonic storm “Sitrang” pronounced as “SiTrang” over the northwest and adjoining the central Bay of Bengal moved northnortheastwards with a speed of 28 kmph during the past 6 hours on Monday evening, an official statement said. “The cyclone is very likely to continue to move north-north eastwards and is expected to cross Bangladesh’s coast between Tinkona Island and Sandwip close to Barisal in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday,” the communique said.
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October 28, 2022 INDIA THIS WEEK Friday FAMILY HAIRCUT $ MEN • WOMEN • KIDS 5 ROOT TOUCH-UP FOR MEN 20 & up $ SERVICES • BEARD TRIM • SHAMPOO • BLOW DRY • PERM • COLOR • HIGHLIGHTS • SPA PEDICURE C&S Beauty & Barber Shop 7311 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003 info@csbarbernschool.com HP polls: 376 candidates filed nominations on last day, total 630 to contest Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 26 (ANI): As many as 376 candidates filed their nominations for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls on the last day taking the total to 630. Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls on November 12, while the counting of the votes will be done on December 8. The state has 68 assembly seats. A notification for the state elections was issued on October 17 and the last date for the filing of nominations was October 25. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dropped Maheshwar Singh after his son Hiteshwar filed his nomination as an independent candidate from the Banjar seat against the party’s official candidate. The BJP released the first list of 62 candidates on Wednesday. The BJP won 44 seats in the previous assembly polls while Congress won 21 seats. In Mandi district 81 candidates filed their papers on Tuesday, followed by Kangra 72, Bilaspur 23, Kullu 19, Kinnaur 3, Chamba 34, Sirmour 35, Shimla 30, Una 29, Hamirpur 26, Solan 23, and Lahaul-Spiti one. In Shimla, Gaurav Sharma filed his nomination as an Independent candidate, while Chaman Rakesh from Aam Aadmi Party, Rakesh Kumar Gill from BSP, and Tikender Singh Panwar filed his nomination as CPI(M) candidate. From BJP, a 57year-old graduate Sanjay Sood, a tea-seller by profession who has been given BJP’s ticket for Shimla Urban constituency to contest the Himachal Pradesh assembly election filed his nomination on Friday. He has been grabbing all the eyeballs in the hills ever since he was given a ticket by the BJP. Sood has been the part of BJP since 1980 and has served in Mandal, Zila, and also as a counselor of Shimla city. “I am thankful to BJP that they have shown faith in me as a small party worker. As you already said, the party has replaced the minister and I have been given the party’s candidate from Shimla Urban. As far as you are talking about the replacement of Minister Suresh Bhardwaj ji, he is our senior leader and the party wants to win all three seats from Shimla organizational district. He is a tall leader and will win the seat and that is the only reason the party has given him to shift to another Assembly constituency and I am sure we shall win these three seats including Shimla Seat,” said Sanjay Sood. Scrutiny of papers will be held on October 27 and the last date for the withdrawal of papers will be October 29. (ANI) Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 26 (ANI): Prayagraj Development Authority has issued a notice to the Global Hospital to vacate the building by October 28. The hospital came into the limelight after it allegedly transfused fruit juice instead of blood platelets to a dengue patient. The civic authority has termed the building as “illegally constructed”. The hospital is likely to be bulldozed. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak has assured strict action against the hospital if they are found guilty. He said that the platelets packet has been sent for testing. “Taking cognizance of the viral video of Jhalwabased Global Hospital offering ‘Mausambi’ juice to a dengue patient in place of platelets in the district Prayagraj, the hospital has been immediately sealed and the platelets packet has been sent for testing. If found guilty, strict action will be taken against the hospital,” Pathak tweeted in Hindi. Earlier, the hospital was sealed after a preliminary inquiry revealed that “some irregularities” were found according to Additional Chief Medical Officer, Dr AK Tiwari. “The (CMO) chief medical officer ordered a probe after the patient died. In the probe, some irregularities were found. The hospital has been sealed till the probe is completed,” the additional CMO said on Thursday. A probe has been initiated and action will be taken after the completion of the investigation. The complainant has filed an FIR, the official said. However, according to the owner of the hospital, Saurabh Mishra, the platelets were brought by the attendants of the patient. “The attendants were given the slip to bring platelets. They brought five units of platelets in the evening. When three units were used, there was a reaction on the patient, we stopped the transfusion. The platelets that were brought by the attendants of the patient were transfused to the patient. It belonged to the SRN Blood Bank. The hospital has no responsibility for it,” he said. The hospital owner alleged that the patient’s attendants were responsible for bringing the platelets. “We do not test the platelets that the attendants bring. How is the hospital responsible if the attendants fetch the wrong platelets? It should be the responsibility of the attendants to ascertain whether they are authentic,” the hospital owner said. “We had referred the patient to a higher centre after the attendants requested to do so following the deterioration in the health of the patient. The patient had not died here, the death happened two days later in another hospital,” Mishra added. Further probe into the matter is underway. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh: Prayagraj hospital which gave juice as IV drip to dengue patient, gets demolition notice
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October 28, 2022 Friday Let’s try to bring happiness to lives of those in need: President Murmu wishes Diwali INDIA THIS WEEK Ayodhya Deepotsav scripts new Guinness World Record by lighting over 15.76 lakh diyas Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 23 (ANI): A new Guinness World Record for the ‘largest display of oil lamps’ was set when more than 15.76 lakh earthen lamps were lit at the ‘Ram ki Paidi’ during the Yogi government’s Deepotsav celebrations in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali. The record was created in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Thousands of devotees, general public, dignitaries witnessed this historic event. The teachers and studentsofAwadhUniversity, Ayodhya contributed largely to creating the record. Over 15.76 lakh earthen lamps were lit one by one with the chanting of ‘Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’ as soon as the PM launched the festival. As the From The Poet’s Pen INDIA THIS WEEK- October 28, 2022 My Inner Life by Robert William New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu on Monday extended greetings for Diwali. “Happy Diwali to all countrymen! On this holy festival of light and joy, let us try to bring happiness to the lives of those in need by lighting the lamp of knowledge and energy. On this great festival, I pray for happiness and prosperity in the lives of all the countrymen,” tweeted Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended his Diwali greetings to countrymen. “Wishing everyone a Happy Diwali. Diwali is associated with brightness and radiance. May this auspicious festival further the spirit of joy and wellbeing in our lives. I hope you have a wonderful Diwali with family and friends,” PM Modi said in a Twitter post. The crowds thronged the markets on the eve of Diwali as people in numbers visited markets across the country ahead of the festival of lights. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated all over India. Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” According to mythology, on this day Lord Ram returned to his kingdom Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman after defeating Ravan in Lanka and serving 14 years of exile. This festival is also widely associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. (ANI) ‘Tis true my garments threadbare are, And sorry poor I seem; But inly I am richer far Than any poet’s dream. For I’ve a hidden life no one Can ever hope to see; A sacred sanctuary none May share with me. Aloof I stand from out the strife, Within my heart a song; By virtue of my inner life I to myself belong. Against man-ruling I rebel, Yet do not fear defeat, For to my secret citadel I may retreat. Oh you who have an inner life Beyond this dismal day With wars and evil rumours rife, Go blessedly your way. Your refuge hold inviolate; Unto yourself be true, And shield serene from sordid fate The Real You. representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records announced the establishment of the record, the entire city of Ayodhya echoed with the chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ The Chief Minister received the certificate, and the Prime Minister congratulated him on the achievement. It is noteworthy that as many as 1.71 lakh lamps were lit in 2017, the year Deepotsav started in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi Adityanath government. Since then the number is continuously increasing to 3.01 lakh in 2018, 4.04 lakh in 2019, 6.06 lakh in 2020, and 9.41 lakh in 2021. INDIA THIS WEEK Address: P.O. Box 352, Bryans Road, MD 20616 Phone: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 www.indiathisweek.online India This Week is published every Friday by ADV Solutions Inc, Views expressed in this paper are solely those of the individual writers and not necessarily of India This Week. India This Week accepts no liability for the errors in advertisements or in any of its reports. For remedial actions any errors should be brought to the attention of the editor either by mail to the above address or by e-mail provided below. Publisher: Chief Editor: Contributing Editors: Dr. Babu Stephen Rajan George Saju Mathew Isaac George Asst. Editors: Manu Jacob Sherena Panjikkaran Special Business Correspondent Elisha B. Pulivarti Business Coordinators Rajan C. George Jithu Johny Panjikkaran Dr. Renuka Misra, Special Correspondent: Geeta Goindi Community Coordinator: Prof. Vinod Goel India Office Manish Krishna Columnists: Anadi Naik World Religions Dr. Sam Prasad Jillella Photo Journalist: Mathew Karmel, System Admn. & Maintenance: Rajan C. George Layout & Graphics: Prinston Samuel, Business Affairs: Mrs. Molly George Visit: www.indiathisweek.online Advertisements ADV Solutions Inc. Tel: 301-445-0200; 301-917-4800 e-Mail: indiathisweekads@gmail.com Letters, Comments, Press Releases e-Mail: indiathisweekpress@yahoo.com
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October 28, 2022 Friday INDIA THIS WEEK Mallikarjun Kharge officially takes charge as Congress president New Delhi [India], October 26 (ANI): Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday officially took charge as the party president at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in the national capital. Congress Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry handed over the certificate of election to the top post. “I hope other parties draw a lesson from the Congress and hold polls for presidency by secret ballot,” said Mistry. Former party president Sonia Gandhi, MP Rahul Gandhi and party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra along with other senior leaders and MPs were present at the occasion. Ahead of the event at the Congressheadquarterstoday, Kharge met former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his home yesterday. This morning, he paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial, Rajghat. He also visited memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, besides former deputy PM Jagjivan Ram. Kharge, who was elected the first Congress chief outside the NehruGandhi family in 24 years, has his task cut out as the party faces several electoral and organizational challenges. A man of vast organizational and administrative experience, Kharge entered the electoral fray for the party’s top post after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot opted against contesting. Kharge, 80, was seen as the “establishment’s candidate” against Shashi Tharoor and polled 7,897 votes against 1072 received by his rival. A leader who has risen from the grassroots, Kharge belongs to the Dalit community and will the second leader from Karnataka to hold the top party post after S Nijalingappa became the Congress president in 1968. In over five decades experience in active politics, Kharge has been a union minister, Congress leader in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and has held several portfolios in Karnataka where he was MLA nine times. A combative, articulate and accessible politician who is comfortable both in Hindi and English, Kharge has been a strong critic of the BJP-led government. He faces major challenges to work out Kishtwar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 25 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar is going to become a major centre of hydroelectric power production in North India where work is going on rapidly on hydropower projects generating 6,000 megawatts of electricity. A thousand megawatts Pakal Dul Project, 624 MW Kiru Project, 540 MW Quad Project and 930 MW Kirthai Project are being constructed in the Kishtwar district in Chenab Valley of Jammu province. At the same time, a large retail project of 850MW is also being built in this district in collaboration with the Center and Union Territory. The construction of the Pakal Dul hydropower project is in progress after the diversion of the river. The project will generate 3,230 MW of electricity annually and is expected to be completed by July 2025. Similarly, the completion of the Kiru project is scheduled for July 2025, which will generate 2,272 MW of electricity annually. This district falls under the Kathua Doda Parliamentary Constituency from which Chief Minister Jitender Singh is also a Member of Parliament. Recently, in the meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee, he said that work is going on rapidly on many projects in the Kishtwar district to generate more than 6,000 MW of electricity and recently a large solar power plant is also being set up near Machail Mata. It will be of great benefit to the pilgrims. The Minister, meanwhile, also reiterated that Kishtwar district is a hub for five major upcoming hydroelectric power projects with huge potential to generate electricity which will contribute to the power sector in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. May have a great capacity to meet needs. The use of solar energy will further increase the power requirements in remote areas of the district. It will also create ample employment opportunities at the local level. Local educated youth are expected to be given priority for providing employment in these projects. It should be noted that the three districts of Chenab Valley including Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban included, has the capacity to generate more than 20,000 MW of hydropower. River Chenab passes through here. Baghlihar, the hydropower project, and the Salal project are also built on this river. (ANI) Kishtwar to emerge as major hydropower centre in North India strategies in terms of Congress revival in the Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as also in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The Congress has seen an erosion in its base in some other states including in the northeast. AAP is also seeking to emerge as a challenger in some states. While Kharge’s immediate challenges are the assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat which will go the polls later this year, several other states including his home state Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will go the polls next year before the crucial battle in the 2024 general election. Many senior party leaders have left Congress in recent months and years and the Congress debacle in Punjab and Uttarakhand assembly polls earlier this year has been blamed on the choices party leadership made in these states. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on Bharat Jodo Yatra, indicated that Kharge will decide his role. Kharge will take over as party chief from Sonia Gandhi, who was serving as interim chief after Rahul Gandhi stepped down following the party’s debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Sonia Gandhi had earlier steered the party for 19 years and played a pivotal role in the formation of two UPA governments. A former union minister of Labour and Railways, Kharge resigned as Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha to contest the presidential polls in accordance with the one person, one post norm. Born on July 21, 1942, Kharge was active in student politics and was general secretary in 1964-65 of the Students Union in Government Arts and Science College in Gulbarga. He was vice president of the Students Union Law College, Gulbarga, in 1966-67 and became president of the Gulbarga City Congress Committee in 1969. Kharge served as MLA in Karnataka nine times between 1972 and 2009 and held several portfolios as minister including education, revenue, rural development and large and medium industry, transport and water resources. He was president of Karnataka Congress from 2005 to 2008 and also served as Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly from 1996-99 and 2008-09. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 2009 and 2014 and elected to Rajya Sabha in 2020. As Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, he raised various issues vociferously. Kharge was seen as a top contender for the CM post in Karnataka several times but never got the role. Kharge did not protest and continued to work as a disciplined party worker. Congress leaders said Kharge will be the second Dalit president in the party’s long history. Kharge is credited with several initiatives in his ministerial tenures. As Union Minister, he revamped the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, extended insurance and benefits for workers in both organised and unorganised sectors and ESIC hospitals throughout the country were modernized. As Railway Minister, he gave emphasis to funding projects in the northeastern states in the railway budget and initiated reforms such as creation of the Rail Tariff Regulatory Authority. With Kharge’s election as the new party chief, the Congress will seek to blunt the BJP’s attack on it over “family-oriented politics”. (ANI) For Advertisements Call: 301-445-0200 301-917-4800 indiathisweekads@gmail.com www.indiathisweek.online
FRIDAY OCTOBER 28, 2022 9 All 9 VCs can continue for now: Kerala High Court on varsity row Kochi (Kerala) [India], October 24 (ANI): The Kerala High Court on Monday held that all nine Vice Chancellors of various universities can continue in their positions until the Chancellor issues a final order following show-cause notices to them earlier today. The court also made it clear that the petitioners will be eligible to continue in their positions however in full compliance with law and regulations till such time the Chancellor issues a final order. A special sitting was held today in this regard. This comes after the nine VCs approached the High Court challenging the Governor’s order to tender their resignations. The Raj Bhavan had earlier sent letters directing the VCs of nine universities to tender their resignation by 11:30 am on October 24. The court observed while dictating the order that, “the vitiating factors become attached to the petitioners, their appointment does not become untenable from October 24, 2022, but from abi initio and I cannot understand how the Chancellor could have watered it down.” “A proper enquiry and thought have to be invested particularly when petitioners have specific cases to their factual scenarios. The argument of the petitioners that the Chancellor cannot issue a show cause notice is also left open and all the remedies of the petitioners to even impugn the same are left open. Every issue, be that the competence and jurisdiction of the Chancellor, is left open,” it added. Earlier today, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan issued notices to the Vice Chancellors of the state universities concerned to show cause by 5 pm on or before November 3 on their legal right to continue in office. “Notices issued to the Vice Chancellors concerned to show cause by 5 pm on or before Nov 3rd, their legal right to continue in office as Vice Chancellors and not to declare their appointment illegal and void ab initio: PRO, Kerala Raj Bhavan,” tweeted the Kerala Governor. “For the purpose of removing the anomaly in appointment of Vice Chancellors in University of Kerala, the Hon’ble Chancellor has asked you to submit resignation to initiate steps for making proper appointment in accordance with the law. Since you have refused to tender your resignation as directed by the Hon’ble Chancellor, there is no option but to declare your appointment as illegal and void ab initio,” a letter attached to the tweet said. Addressing a press conference, the Governor referred to the alleged heckling during an event hosted by Kannur University in December 2019. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday said that he had called the VC of Kannur University a “criminal” to “facilitate an attack” on him. “I called (Kannur) VC criminal. I will say sorry if you find me a substitute word. What other word should I use for a person who invites me to Kannur to facilitate an attack on me? Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University, after the Kannur incident, wrote back to Raj Bhavan that I’m (VC) not a security expert, so can’t give a report,” Khan said. He said that the VC violated the approved programme and guidelines. “You invite me there, violate the approved programme, and violate every guideline. When you are asked to send the report of what happened there, you send this reply. Only a conspirator can do that. Who else can do it?” he said. The Governor alleged that the political secretary of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was seen in the audience during his programme two years back at the university where he was “inciting” them to raise slogans. “The political secretary of the Chief Minister, who was supposed to be on the stage, was there in the audience inciting them to raise slogans. I could have used even stronger language because they indulged in unlawful activities,” he said. “How many judgements has the court issued in which it has said that I have exceeded my power in recent days? Who else exceeds his power if not a criminal?” Khan added. This comes after Kannur University ViceChancellor Gopinath Ravindran on Monday said that he will not tender his resignation. “I have received the decision of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan but I will not submit my resignation. The resignation of the VC is based either on financial irregularities or bad behaviour and neither of these has happened here. This is a fake accusation,” said Kannur University Vice-Chancellor said on Monday. This comes after the Supreme Court set aside the appointment of MS Rajasree as Vice-Chancellor of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. A bench of justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar allowed the appeal filed by Professor Sreejith P.S. challenging the Kerala High Court order dated August 2, 2021. As per the UGC Regulations also, the Visitor/Chancellor shall appoint the Vice Chancellor out of the panel of names recommended by the Search Committee. Therefore, when only one name was recommended and the panel of names was not recommended, the Chancellor had no option to consider the names of the other candidates, the top court observed. (ANI)
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