Even as he takes on the Centre in court, it was interesting to see Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar accept Sharma’s invite to attend the IIM-Rohtak convocation ceremony held on Saturday. The Union government is currently at loggerheads with IIM-Rohtak Director Dheeraj Sharma over his appointment to the post in 2017. Sharma is accused of concealing his academic credentials and being ineligible for the job. The latter has been acknowledged by the government in court and it has even issued a showcause notice to Sharma over it, which he has further challenged in court. Even as he takes on the Centre in court, it was interesting to see Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar accept Sharma’s invite to attend the IIM-Rohtak convocation ceremony held on Saturday. Incidentally, in his speech during the event, Khattar said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was first scheduled to attend the convocation. But since Shah had to cancel his visit last minute, he personally asked him to attend instead, the Chief Minister said.
The Eviction
WITH THE Directorate of Estates last week sending an eviction notice to All India Congress Committee (AICC) for vacating an accommodation — C-II/109 — allotted to it in Chanakyapuri in New Delhi where Congress MP Rajeev Gowda is currently residing, the buzz was that the government would soon be eyeing the Congress headquarter at 24 Akbar Road as well. But sources have confirmed that no eviction notice will be sent for now to the opposition party. The Congress meanwhile has told the Directorate of Estates that Gowda will vacate the bungalow by April 14.
Surprise Move
THE MINISTRY of Education has given IIT Kharagpur Director Prof Virendra Kumar Tewari additional charge of the IIT Bhubaneswar campus. Prof R V Raja Kumar, who was heading IIT Bhubaneswar, was on extension. It was widely expected that Prof Kumar will be relieved only after a full-time Director is appointed as his successor. Towards that end, interviews have been conducted and a successor has nearly been finalised, sources said. The move to replace Prof Kumar with an in-charge director has come as a surprise for many.
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