MPs' plea to PM on JNU V-C appointment

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 24. The Parliamentary Forum for Education and Culture today urged the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, to intervene and ensure that the next Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) would be a person of ``both intellectual prominence and academic and personal integrity.'' A letter signed by 54 MPs belonging to different parties said a state of uncertainty was prevailing since the Government was unable to achieve unanimity over naming a successor to Prof. Asis Datta, whose tenure ended on November 14.

Referring to reports, the MPs said the main reason for the government's indecision was the fact that while the Human Resource Development Ministry would like to have someone sympathetic to the Sangh Parivar, the academic community opposed it and would prefer someone ``with an open mind'' to be at the helm of affairs.

They said since the JNU was one of Asia's most prestigious universities and a symbol of India's intellectual and academic achievement in the realm of natural and social sciences, it was important to maintain its competitive edge in the world for coming generations. The signatories include Mr. Eduardo Faleiro, convenor of the forum, Dr. Raja Ramanna, Mr. Arjun Singh and Mr. S.R. Bommai, Mr. Ranganath Misra (Cong.), Mr. Fali S. Nariman, Mr. Kuldip Nayyar, Dr. C. Narayana Reddy and Mr. Mrinal Sen (Nominated), Mr. S. Ramachandran Pillai and Prof. Bharti Ray (CPI-M), Mr J. Chittaranjan (CPI), Prof. Ram Deo Bhandary (RJD), Mr. Obaidullah Khan Azmi (JD-S), Mr. Kripal Parmar (BJP), Mr. Mohammed Azam Khan (SP) and Mr. Debabrata Biswas (AIFB) among others.

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