Former Minister and secretary of AIADMK north district unit, C.Ve. Shanmugam, on Monday alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to prevent the establishment of a ‘Jayalalithaa University’ in Villupuram, which was evolved by the previous AIADMK government. A Vice Chancellor had been appointed for the University at the fag end of the Palaniswami government.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Shanmugam said the university was announced following the bifurcation of Thiruvalluvar University in Vellore. The area of jurisdiction of the new university was already finalised and the districts of Cuddalore, Villupuram and Kallakurichi would come under its purview. The previous government had also identified a 70-acre parcel of land at Semmedu in Villupuram for the campus, he said.
But now a conspiracy was under way to prevent the university’s formation and sabotage all the initiatives taken by the government to make higher education available to the downtrodden and weaker sections from these three districts, he charged.
“The DMK government should not entertain an opportunity for infusion of a narrow mindset only because the university was proposed by the previous AIADMK government. No attempt should be made to scuttle the formation of the university,” he said.
It is not a question of who evolved the formation of the university: the aim of ensuring higher education to students should not be disturbed at any cost, he said. “I do not know whether the Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudi, who hails from Villupuram district, was aware of such a move to sabotage the formation of the university,” he said.
Mr. Shanmugam claimed that the Secretary to Higher Education D. Karthikeyan, who was shifted from the Highways and Minor Ports Department, was indulging in such a plan to prevent the formation of the university. The Vice-Chancellor was yet to be allotted a vehicle while the recruitment process for the appointment of a Registrar has also been put on hold, he said. The State government should immediately intervene and ensure the functioning of the university at the earliest, he added.
