Irregularities alleged in appointment of IIM Rohtak director

ROHTAK: Two MPs have written to Union minister of human resource development (HRD) Prakash Javadekar to order a probe into the appointment of Prof Dheeraj Sharma as the director of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Rohtak.

The entire controversy started when an activist from the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) reportedly obtained information under an RTI plea that indicated that Prof Sharma did not fulfil the required conditions to be appointed as the director of the premier management institute.

Trinmool Congress MP Saugata Roy and CPI Rajya Sabha member D Raja have written to Javadekar demanding a probe and action in the matter.

“The complaints (against Prof Sharma) are quite serious. May I request you to look into the same for early remedial action,” wrote Roy, who attached the copies of the RTI replies.

As per NCPRI activist Amitabh Choudhry, the replies he received in response to his RTI plea did not give any proof of Prof Sharma fulfilling the eligibility condition of a first-class degree in graduation and post-graduation, besides a PhD from a reputed organisation and 15 years of teaching and research experience, as per the advertisement rolled out by government.

Prof Sharma, however, has refuted the charges. “I fulfil the eligibility conditions for the post of director and was appointed following due procedure,” he said. Prof Sharma, who was earlier a professor at IIM Ahmedabad, took over as the director of IIM Rohtak in March last year.

CITING HIS INELIGIBILITY AS PER RTI INFO, TRINMOOL CONGRESS MP SAUGATA ROY AND CPI RAJYA SABHA MEMBER D RAJA SEEK PROBE INTO THE MATTER