A section of teachers has objected to the participation of Mumbai University's vice chancellor Rajan Welukar in the 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) and his receiving prime minister Narendra Modi for the event, which is being held at the varsity from January 3 to 7.
Their objections are based on a recent Bombay high court order which held that the MU made a serious error in shortlisting Welukar's name for the post because he had apparently not fulfilled the requisite eligibility criteria for the appointment.
Members of the Mumbai University and College Teacher's Association (MUCTA) as well as of MU's Yuva Sena Senate have not only requested governor to restrict the VC's participation in event, but have also requested for his suspension following the court's order.
On Wednesday, the organizations wrote a letter in this regard to the governor, to which they awaiting a reply.
Subhash Athavle, secretary of MUCTA, said, "After the honourable court's comment, we think it is not appropriate to allow VC to participate in the prestigious ISC program and also to receive the prime minister. We have not yet received any answer to the letter submitted to the governor, but we will wait till Friday to know the answer."
Pradip Sawant, senate member, Mumbai University, said, "After the court recently questioned the appointment of the Rajan Welukar for the post of VC, we expected that he would resign. But he is continuing on the post and also dealing with the ISC program. What impression would that have on the scientists who will be coming to our campus? We have requested the governor to not allow the VC to be a part of the program."
The governor's office could not confirm the receipt of this letter. Welukar remained unavailable for comments.
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