M A I N   N E W S

VC’s notice upsets minister
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 7
The decision of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Vice-Chancellor, Dr K. S. Aulakh, to issue a show cause notice to a professor of the university for getting his candidature recommended from an Akali minister for getting appointed to a coveted post of PAU is set to snowball into a major controversy. The case is also becoming an embarrassment for the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, as it exposes the political recommendations made for a post.

Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Revenue Minister with the SAD government, talking to The Tribune over the phone from Batala today said he was deeply upset over the Vice-Chancellor’s act and would take up the matter with the Chief Minister for taking action against Dr Aulakh for humiliating the minister in public. He said not only the act was unwarranted but was illogical also.

He claimed that the recommendation made by him was sent through the Chief Minister’s Office to the Board of Management of PAU just because Dr H. S. Dhaliwal, a professor of bio-technology was a deserving candidate for the post of Director, Research. Mr Sekhwan said being a representative of the public and especially of the Batala constituency, to which Dr Dhaliwal belongs, he had every right to recommend a meritorious scientist of international repute.

Dr Aulakh had early this week issued a show-cause notice to Dr Dhaliwal on why action should not be taken against him for getting political recommendation for the post. Dr Dhaliwal in his reply had said his village fell in the constituency of the minister who had on his own recommended his case.

Joining the issue, Mr Sekhwan said he was not approached by Dr Dhaliwal and had on his own recommended his case to the Chief Minister who sent his letter of recommendation to the Board of Management of PAU. He said being the representative of the public he had every right to recommend someone for a post if he thinks the person is a deserving candidate. ‘‘I and Dr Dhaliwal are childhood friends and belong to the same village. We have grown up together and I know he is a man of big calibre and thus I recommended his case as a good friend’’.

Moreover, according to the minister, the letter of recommendation reached the varsity five days after the selection of the candidate and had thus no influence on the selection. The minister charged the Vice-Chancellor of violating the official conduct rules which called for maintaining secrecy about certain things.

He also charged Dr Aulakh of making it an issue out of personal enmity with Dr Dhaliwal. He said earlier Dr Aulakh had terminated the services of Dr Dhaliwal’s wife who was also serving the university.

The minister said he did not think it was unusual for him to recommend someone. He said politicians being a representative of the public often make such recommendations for the benefit of the state.