Chennai: The appointment of Karnataka’s M.K. Surappa as Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu’s prestigious Anna University has drawn the ire of major political parties in the state.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss on Friday said the appointment does not respect the feelings of the Tamil people and was condemnable.
Ramadoss said his party would mobilise the varsity’s students and protest against Surappa’s appointment.
The PMK leader said when there were good educationists in Tamil Nadu, “importing” a person from another state was not acceptable.
He said no Tamilian was appointed as Vice Chancellor for Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, Pondicherry University and The Indian Maritime University for a long time.
In a Facebook post late Thursday, DMK leader M.K. Stalin said at a time when the Cauvery water issue was at its helm, the appointment of Surappa was not acceptable.
Stalin suggested not to saffronise Tamil Nadu universities by importing Vice Chancellors from outside while insulting the “sons of the soil”.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit appointed Surappa as Anna University’s Vice Chancellor for three years.
Surappa had previously served as the Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, for six years (2009 to 2015).
A Doctorate in Metallurgical Engineering, Surappa has 30 years of teaching experience of which 24 years were spent at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.(IANS)