The new Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University is finding herself embroiled in controversies even before she settles into her new job. On February 7, the government announced the appointment of Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the first woman VC of JNU.
Her subsequent press release, detailing plans for the central university, was criticised by none other than BJP MP Varun Gandhi. Gandhi said that the press release is an "exhibition of illiteracy, littered with grammatical mistakes". The Lok Sabha member from Pilibhit in UP said that "such mediocre appointments serve to damage our human capital and our youth's future".
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Meanwhile, other allegations were levelled against the new JNU VC on social media. Some users accused her of posting bigoted messages on Twitter. Others claimed she is a hate-monger and genocide-enabler. However, the new VC did find support in some quarters, with her critics being accused of misogyny. The unverified account tagged in the critical tweets was later found deleted.
However, the controversies didn't end here. A report in The Indian Express claimed that Pandit had faced punishment on two occasions for alleged misconduct.
The Savitribai Phule Pune University, where Pandit was teaching before her JNU appointment, had reportedly informed the Union government that her increments had been permanently withheld twice. This was after an inquiry by a retired judge found her guilty of not following rules for admission of Persons of Indian Origin, or PIOs under the 15% supernumerary quota from 2002 to 2007, as per the Indian Express report.
News reports said that she was yet to respond to the allegations.