The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, September 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I L B A G

VC-students rift is unseemly

The open confrontation between the Vice-Chancellor and students of Punjabi University, Patiala, is a sad and dismal spectacle. Whereas the reputation of the university is getting stained, the ultimate sufferers are bound to be the students. At present, much depends on the ability and dexterity of the Vice-Chancellor to resolve the prevailing impasse and steer his administrative board through the troubled waters.

Nothing is expected to be achieved through regimentation and imposition of authority. Also, levelling allegations and counter-allegations will yield nothing.

It does not behove a person of the status and maturity of a Vice-Chancellor to blame any specific individual or political parties for any alleged lapses by them in the past. As VC he has inherited both good and bad traditions and legacies from his predecessors. It now depends on his own innovative ability and genius as to how to separate grain from the chaff and effect the needed changes, reforms and improvement in the cores of the inherited system and make the same flawlessly viable for better functioning of the university.

O.P. SHARMA, S.A.S. Nagar

Inertia

This refers to your editorial "Zahira will get justice" (Sept 13). The inept handling of the Gujarat affairs by the Modi government, and its failure to protect the citizens and to punish the criminals, as a whole, has come in for a good measure of criticism from several quarters, particularly from those who have to bear the brunt of the holocaust — the Best Bakery killings, the Godhra carnage, post-Godhra riots and so forth.

The state, which is under the constitutional obligation to protect citizens, cannot be allowed to abandon the principles of criminal justice (as has happened in the case in point) to save itself from any political consequences. Such politics needs to be discouraged.

It is owing to the inertia on the part of the Gujarat government that the criminals are still at large.

O.P. KALYANA, Chandigarh

CBI in the dock

This refers to the news item, "Supreme Court raps CBI for delay in Taj corridor scam", (Sept. 12). The observation made by the apex court in the present case and similar observations made by several high courts about the investigations conducted by the CBI cast serious doubts on the functioning of the premier agency.

In our country there have been hundreds of big scams and hardly any politician or bureaucrat has been sent to jail. There will be possibility of partiality in dispensing with the investigations unless the CBI is taken out of the administrative control of the Centre and put under the control of the Central Vigilance Commission. The CVC should simultaneously be made a constitutional body.

Maj NARINDER SINGH JALLO, SAS Nagar

No refund

At the time of first counselling of B.Ed. which started on July 30 at Guru Nanak Dev University a confusion regarding admission to UT Pool colleges prevailed and the candidates who were eligible being bonafide students of UT colleges for three years were denied admission in UT Pool and were allotted seats in Punjab colleges which lead to a hue and cry.

With a view to resolving the matter authorities of UT administration, the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University and DPIs of colleges of Punjab and UT held a meeting and decided to hold fresh counselling for 85 per cent UT Pool. Accordingly, the eligible candidates were transferred from Punjab colleges to UT colleges in the counselling held on August 25 (1st counselling for 85 per cent UT Pool in view of the decision mentioned above) and September 6 (2nd counselling for 85 per cent UT Pool).

The parents and their wards who had to travel to Amritsar twice from farflung areas because the authorities were not clear regarding 85 per cent UT Pool are not being refunded the dues by the colleges they joined in the first instance despite clear instructions from the Coordinator on the face of the application submitted to the Principals concerned. Had this issue been decided before commencement of counselling they would have been saved from a lot of botheration for no fault on their part.

The authorities concerned are requested to direct the college/s to refund dues remitted by the candidates so that they may not have to approach the courts for justice.

T.L. SHARMA, Nangal Township, Distt. Ropar