Subramanian Swamy as JNU VC? 'Not Unless Govt Meets My Conditions' He Says

NEW DELHI: BJP maverick Subramanian Swamy who has been for over a year without a post, despite his unstinted support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is now being mentioned i as possibly the next Vice Chancellor of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University. A move that is currently being laughed at in the University and outside, will be resisted strongly if it actually comes to pass.

Reports suggest that Swamy has been “offered” the post by the government. However, as professors in JNU point out the Vice Chancellors position is not up for offer, or at least till date it was not as there are certain rules and regulations that have to be followed. A Search Committee is set up with two representatives from the Executive Council and one from the HRD MInistry who make the recommendations from which the Visitor makes a final choice.

Swamy of course sounds excited at having been brought back into political conversation. Within hours of the reports making the round he tweeted, “Media is on fire that I have been offered the JNU VC post. No formal offer nor will there be if the Govt cannot meet my pre- conditions.”

Swamy is 76 years, old for a University where the retirement age is 65 years. On paper he has all the qualifications being an alumni of the prestigious Harvard University, having taught at the Indian Institute of Technology and having held several imports positions in government.

However, all the qualifications pale into insignificance when confronted by the full weight of his personality. Swamy is known to have pet peeves, and when confronted the persistence to keep hitting below the belt regardless of the consequences. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a Swamy target for years, as was in fact sections of the RSS at one point when he wrote long articles against how its leadership had cowered before Indira Gandhi during the emergency.

The Nehru-Gandhi family remains a target with Swamy letting fly, crossing the political into the personal and making wild allegations from time to time. Last year he described Priyanka Vadera s an alcoholic saying,:“She is very unpopular, she drinks too much alcohol and she has a bad name.” Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa is another target, with swamy pursuing court cases against her.

While even the RSS hesitated to speak out openly Swamy had no such compunctions in saying, “Implement the uniform civil code, make learning of Sanskrit and singing of Vande Mataram mandatory, and declare India a Hindu Rashtra in which non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus. Rename India Hindustan as a nation of Hindus and those whose ancestors were Hindus.”

Despite this Swamy has remained out in the cold despite his strong endorsement for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is not particularly trusted within the BJP, and is seen as an unguided missile that can fire in any direction. He is bitterly opposed however to the Left, and this along with his brash, provocative style is perceived as the qualification for placing him at the helm of JNU known for its excellence, and progressive politics with the Left dominating both the faculty and the students union.