9 CUG teachers issued show cause notice over political activities; teachers allege being targeted

NEW DELHI, MAY 5: As many as nine faculty members of the Central University of Gujarat (CUG) have been issued ‘Show Cause’ notice by the University administration for participating in political activities during the last year’s assembly election in the state.

The faculty who have been issued the notices include a professor, an associate professor and seven assistant professors.

The nine faculty members have been issued notice for violating Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (CCS) Conduct Rule, which forbids government employees from joining political parties and campaigning for them.

It has been alleged that the above-mentioned teachers participated in campaigning for the opposition parties and the same is the major reason for the show cause notice.

The association of Central Universities Teachers has condemned the show-cause notices issued to the faculty members and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

The Federation of Central University Teacher’s Associations (FEDCUTA) has alleged that the show cause notices themselves shockingly stem from an unsigned complaint written on an ABVP letterhead and even more shockingly forwarded by the MHRD to the university. In its letter, the FEDCUTA says, “To make matters worse, the complaint itself alleges that the teachers concerned were participating in political activities favoring opposition activities of Jignesh Mevani and the Congress party in the state.”

Sony Kunjappal, President of Teachers Association who has also been served the notice has alleged that selected faculty members are being targeted and harassed unnecessarily. He said that the University should have first sought a clarification from us on the whole issue and then issued a notice.

The teachers have alleged that the complaint and the show-cause notice clearly constitute attempts to browbeat the university teachers into submission to the governmental point of view.

The FEDCUTA, on the other hand, has also demanded the removal of regulations like the Civil Services Conduct rules from the Central University of Gujarat and other universities so that these are not misused to curtail academic freedom.