HRD blocks minister's appointment as varsity Chancellor

Former Mumbai Police commissioner and now Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development (HRD) Dr Satya Pal Singh (62), who hit headlines with the claim that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is "scientifically wrong," is engaged in a battle with his cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar blocking his appointment as the Chancellor of a deemed Haridwar university.

Javadekar is sitting for the past two months on the offer made by Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya (GKV), a privately managed deemed university run by the Arya Samaj and fully funded by the government through the University Grants Commission (UGC).

He decided not to clear the file after the law ministry gave the opinion on the possible conflict of interest if Singh takes up the position. Though it may not be a case of office of profit, it could be an issue of conflict of interest, the ministry opined.

Dr Singh is angry as to why he can't head GKV when Prime Minister Modi is the chancellor of VisvaBharati and Javadekar is himself the chancellor of the Delhi-based Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan.

He says all that he can perform as the university's chancellor is to preside over convocations and hold meetings on the functioning of the institution. It is not a daily job that may come in conflict with his ministerial duties. Being funded by the government, it is better if a minister keeps an eye on its functioning, he argues.

HRD is sitting for the past two months on the offer to appoint former Mumbai Police commissioner and now Union Minister of State for HRD Dr Satya Pal Singh (62), who hit headlines with the claim that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is "scientifically wrong," as the Chancellor of a deemed Haridwar university