Karnataka: Protests against appointment of nodal officer for IIT Dharwad

The Karnataka government is facing opposition in the Legislative Assembly for its appointment of the nodal officer for IIT Dharwad. On Thursday, Raichur district MLAs asked the state government to withdraw the appointment of Rajendra Chola as nodal officer, since it wasn’t yet finalised whether the IIT would be set up at Dharwad. 

A report in Deccan Chronicle states that once question hour was over, Raichur district MLAs, including Manappa Vajjal, Congress MLA AS Patil Nadahalli, Shivaraj Patil and Guru Patil, protested by waving placards. They went on to add that there were protests in Raichur after the government appointed a nodal officer for the IIT at Dharwad.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has written a letter to the government suggesting that the IIT be shifted to Raichur, but there has been no response yet on this. The report adds that Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister TB Jayachandra has also said that the government was doing its best to get the IIT shifted from Dharwad to Raichur.

A bandh was reportedly called on Thursday in Raichur by the IIT Manjoorati Horata, which has been protesting for the establishment of the IIT at Raichur. A samiti activist, Santosh, suffered serious burns while trying to set a tyre on fire and has been admitted in a hospital. All educational institutions, shops and courts were shut on Thursday