Lakhon Kma, the chairman of the Joint Action Committee comprising NEHUTA, NEHUNSA, and NEHUSU, reiterated that a consultant hired by the Vice-Chancellor, Rohit Prasad, has been illegally appointed and it therefore does not matter what quality or qualification he has.
“You have not appointed somebody by following due process and that is more than enough reason for you to remove the person and there can be no justification from the Vice-Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla’s side that he needs a reason to terminate him,” Kma told reporters at a press conference today.
According to him, the JAC is questioning Prasad’s appointment itself and they need no other reasons from Shukla to remove Prasad.
Kma said that during the press conference of the NEHU VC recently, Shukla had said that Prasad is not from his caste.
“Why is this word caste coming from his lips? We are forced to believe that this person probably practices and propagates casteism and this is what he is trying to import in NEHU,” the JAC chairman said.
Asked if the JAC will knock on the doors of the judiciary if the Vice-Chancellor does not relent on the matter, Kma said that they will discuss the next step and all options will be explored.
“We will not rule out going to the court if need be because since the JAC has already resolved that the salary paid to Prasad has to be recovered from the salary of the Vice-Chancellor and not from NEHU’s funds,” he added.
Furthermore, Kma pointed out the absence of a constituted selection committee, with the interview allegedly conducted solely online by the Vice Chancellor himself, raising concerns about the fairness and transparency of the selection process.
Kma emphasized that the appointment process clearly violated the rules established during the 185th meeting of the Executive Council, a rule that the Vice Chancellor himself allegedly disregarded.
Notably, Prasad’s salary reportedly included a dearness allowance of 38 percent, which, according to Kma, is not in line with the standard practice for contractual employees. Kma claimed that the payment of such an allowance without UGC authorization was a clear violation of the established rules.
Furthermore, doubts were raised about the authenticity of Prasad’s educational qualifications, which include a Diploma in IT (2010), BE IT (2013), MBA in Human Resources (2016), MBA IT (2016), and M.Phil in Commerce (2017). Kma stressed that the lack of transparency in the submission of relevant documents, as well as the absence of a formal advertisement, further fuelled suspicions about the appointment process.
