- The four new trustees are Harshad Patel, vice-chancellor of the Gandhinagar-based Indian Institute of Teacher Education, Rajashri Birla, Gafurbhai Bilakhia and DP Thakar
NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JAN 2
The new board of Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidyapith accepted the resignations of nine trustees, who had quit in October last year to protest against the appointment of Governor Acharya Devvrat as its chancellor and four new trustees were also appointed, the varsity’s vice-chancellor said on Monday.
The now deemed university was set up by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920 and the nine trustees had submitted their resignations more than two months ago claiming Devvrat’s appointment as the chancellor was done with “undue haste” and under “political pressure”.
At the time, the apex decision-making body of the Ahmedabad-based university had decided not to accept the resignations.
The resignations were finally accepted on Monday in a meeting of the current board of trustees, which also appointed four new trustees.
“We tried to convince them to withdraw their resignation. But, since they refused to accept our request, the board of trustees has accepted their resignations. Four new trustees were also appointed today,” Gujarat Vidyapith vice- chancellor Rajendra Khimani told reporters after the meet.
The four new trustees are Harshad Patel, vice-chancellor of the Gandhinagar-based Indian Institute of Teacher Education, Rajashri Birla, Gafurbhai Bilakhia and DP Thakar.
Patel once worked as a media coordinator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat.
