Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad has witnessed all sorts of democratic transgressions under the office of Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prod. Appa Rao Podile, student association of the HCU-Ambedkar (ASA), said after the former was relieved of his post on Monday.
In a strongly worded statement, ASA, a student wing of the University of Ambedkarite, said that Appa Rao had reduced the university to its own mini-empire during its ‘autocratic and dictatorial’ tenure.
“Polide Apparao merely acted as a spokesman for the ruling BJP regime and even the VC position was gained by him through his caste-political lobbying,” ASA said.
ASA called for the death of its member and Dalit doctor Rohit Vemula and blamed Prof Appa Rao for being directly responsible for his ‘institutional assassination’. The association said: ” The atrocities committed by Appa Rao during his tenure as VC cannot be forgotten. In this regard, we would like to reiterate once again that our legal battle against Appa Rao, BJP and ABVP leaders will continue. ‘
They further said that not even an inch of the fight for ‘Justice for Rohith Vemula’ would be withdrawn.
The Ambedkarite group said Appa Rao’s term of office was marked by anti – student policies, malpractice and corruption. They also blamed him for completely destroying spaces intended to discuss academic issues by reducing the meetings of the Academic Council, the Executive Council and the School Board to spaces of glorification and exaltation.
In addition, ASA noted that several lakhs of rupees have been spent on the interior decoration of VC’s lodge and other such personal expenses at a time when various schools and centers are experiencing serious financial difficulties. “The University of Hyderabad, despite the abundance of financial resources, could not make the campus more inclusive,” they said.
Senior professor in the school of computer and information sciences, prof. Appa Rao Podile, dismissed the office of the Vice-Chancellor on Monday and handed over the complaint to prof. Arun Agarwal, Pro-Vice-Chancellor-1 and the next senior senior professor at the University.
Source: The Siasat Daily