Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Congress MLAs on Tuesday raised a call attention motion in the Assembly over alleged irregularities and administrative lapses at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Bhopal campus. Responding to the motion, Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar assured the House that strict action would be taken in the matter.
Congress MLAs Hemant Katare, Dinesh Jain Bose and Mahesh Parmar moved the motion seeking strict action. During the debate, Katare claimed that the campus had been turned into a ‘fortress’ functioning without government oversight. He further alleged that the campus medical clinic was illegal in terms of its construction and operations and demanded that the government demolish it.
Responding to the allegations, Minister Parmar said that notices had been previously issued to the university and the complaints received were of serious nature. The show-cause notice recently issued to the university, he added, was part of ongoing strict action.
The minister informed the House that when the incident came to his knowledge, he immediately discussed the matter with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. He also said that action is being examined against those who denied entry to the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) at the campus.
Parmar further informed the House that a team from the Madhya Pradesh Private University Regulatory Commission will visit the campus again .
Katare also demanded the withdrawal of the FIR registered against nearly 3,000 protesting students. On this issue, Parmar assured that the government is examining the FIR and reiterated that not a single student's future would be jeopardized.
The department of higher education has served a show-cause notice to the university under Section 41(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Private University (Establishment and Operation) Act, 2007, giving the institution seven days to submit its reply.
Around 4,000 students had staged a violent protest at the campus on November 25, vandalising and setting fire to the property and vehicles over management's attempts to cover up a jaundice outbreak, ignore complaints about the poor quality of food and water, and the manhandling of students.
