Ex-union minister Karan Singh is BHU's new chancellor

Varanasi, July 27 (UNI) Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Karan Singh was today nominated as the chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for the second time despite vehement opposition by local Congress MP Rajesh Mishra.

Dr Singh was nominated for the ace post of the central varsity at the meeting of the BHU Court chaired by Vice Chancellor Panjab Singh, official sources said.

The post of university chancellor had been lying vacant since 2000, when the last chancellor and erstwhile King of Kashi Dr Vibhuti Narayan Singh passed away.

Dr Singh's name for the exalted post was proposed by BHU Court member Prof H P Dikshit -- former vice-chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) -- to which members present at the meeting, barring the local Congress MP agreed upon, sources added.

Dr Mishra, former vice-president of now defunct BHU Students Union, however, protested the move by stating that proposal of Dr Singh's name followed by immediate nomination amounted to the violation of BHU Statute 12, which makes it mandatory for a 20-day advance notice for the proposal of name to the post of chancellor by any of the Court member.

However, Dr Mishra proposed the name of Kunwar Anant Narayan Singh -- the son of the erstwhile King of Kashi -- for the post of Chancellor.

BHU VC Prof Singh in his concluding remarks promised to look into the provisions of the BHU statute before taking any final decision.

A total of 26 members attended the meeting, including VC Panjab Singh, Regsitrar N Sunderam, Rector S Lele, Prof K B Pawar, Prof K C Chopra, S Rajgopal, Jitendra Desai, Suresh Newatia, G S Randhawa and C K Mathew.

Dr Singh, in the past stood the BHU chancellor from October 2, 1963 to May 19, 1967. Prior to being nominated Chancellor of the central university in 1963, Dr Singh was the Pro-Chancellor of the same institution.

Dr Singh, the last heir apparent to the throne of former princely state of Kashmir is presently a member of the upper house of parliament, besides being the chairman of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

The last meeting of BHU court was held in 1992.

UNI