BJP; a party which does not follow but creates controversies

New Delhi: The Bhartiya Janata Party does not follow controversies, it creates them. There are three recent instances which make it bare. More may be in the offing. By the time its leaves office the list may be long and more torturous.

As if two controversial decisions were not enough, the party-headed government at the Centre took another a couple of days ago. It has appointed former cricketer Chetan Chauhan as the head of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). But accounts available about him, reveals that neither has he done any course offered by NIFT nor is he a textile engineer.

The institute offers, as per the information about it on the official website, courses in textile and leather design, technology, management and merchandising. Clearly, it should be headed by a technical person and not a cricketer.

The Act under which the appointment was made also does not justify the government’s order. The NIFT Act 2006, prescribes that the chairperson of the Board of Governors should to be “an eminent academician, scientist or technologist or professional, to be nominated by the Visitor of the institute”, which is the President. Chetan does not does not fit into any of the categories mentioned for the appointment.

Furthermore, the two-term BJP Member of Parliament (MP) is a busy person handling various other assignments. He is the vice-president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association and running a cricket academy in Delhi. He may not find much time for the institute.

He has himself admitted that his appointment is political one.”This is a Government of India appointment. The names [for the post of chairman] are sent by the ministry of textiles… preference is given to people in the party (BJP),” Chauhan has told a news paper. This tells a lot.

Appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) chief and Pahaj Nihlani’s appointment as head of Censor Board chief have been as controversial. Selection of Chauhan had irked students of the institute so much they had gone on strike protesting over his appointment for a long period.

Nihlani was not in the good book either. He was in the news recently for removing a good part of the Udta Punjab film. The issue was dragged to the court which found the decision wrong and allowed the film to be screened with just one cut and not many.