Mahatma Gandhi founded Gujarat Vidyapith on Thursday elected former BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta, Srikrishna Kulkarni as its trustees.
With today's announcement, two BJP leaders have made their way in the list of trustees of the varsity ever since governor Acharya Devvrat took over as its chancellor. Earlier, the varsity had appointed Harshad Patel, a BJP leader who also heads Teachers University in Gandhinagar, as one of its trustees.
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In a note, the varsity announced Thursday that Kulkarni and Chudasama were elected as trustees "unanimously" in the meeting held at Vidyapith presided over by governor Devvrat. The note said that Kulkarni is son of Sumitraben Kulkarni, who is the granddaughter of Gandhi, and has been a member of National Executive Committee for the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations of Gandhi.
The new appointments of trustees are being done after eight trustees resigned in protest against the appointment of governor Devvrat as its chancellor. In an open resignation letter, they had requested the governor not to accept the post as it was being done under "crass political pressure" and "in total disregard of Gandhi’s values, methods and practices."
The varsity accepted their resignation and has already filled six of the vacant posts. Earlier, apart from Harshad Patel, DP Thaker, the former state chief information commissioner, Padma Bhushan Rajshree Birla, and Gafur Bilakhia, an industrialist from Vapi, were appointed as trustees. Two more seats are vacant.
Founded by Gandhi more than a century old, Vidyapith is set for major changes in its administration and academic functioning in coming days.
Published 20 April 2023, 20:27 IST