Patna : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has written to Union minister Sushma Swaraj, expressing disappointment at the resignation of Nalanda University
Chancellor George Yeo over the Centre’s “intervention in the functioning of the institution” and urging the NDA government not to “tamper with the essence behind the idea of Nalanda”. In his strong-worded two-page letter to Swaraj, he said the Chancellor alleged that “he was not taken into confidence on the decision to dissolve the previous governing board or constitute a new one”.
“Yoe has reportedly resigned from his post citing central government’s interventions as affecting the autonomy of the institution. He has emphasised that he was not taken into confidence on the decision to dissolve the previous governing board or constitute a new one,” Kumar said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to the media last night. He went on to say that “the fact that an important decision was taken without consulting the Chancellor of the university is disturbing and raises questions about the autonomous nature of the university”. Kumar, the prime mover behind the idea of reviving ancient glory of Nalanda University and conceptualising establishment of Nalanda International University, also questioned the constitution of new governing body established by the Centre “when no amendment in the Nalanda University Act, 2010 has taken place”.
