Shankar Mohan, the former director of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, accused a group with vested interests of using students to oust him from his position on Tuesday, January 24. This statement came a day after students at the Kottayam-based institute ended their week-long protest following a meeting with government officials.
Mohan alleged that a group of former staff including some security personnel of the institute, who was dismissed from service by him, had made the students a tool to protest against him. In this regard, he said, "I clearly know that some people were behind the incidents. It was a controversy hatched by them. I don't blame the students. They were made a tool by these people," Mohan claimed.
When asked about the recent resignation of a group of faculty members extending him support, the former director said he did not expect that. "I never expected that they would resign. They are the ones who stand by the truth," he told the media. Further, he rejected media reports that he had resigned as a report by the two-member panel, entrusted by the government to probe the matter, had some adverse remarks against him.
Clearing the air about his resignation, he said he resigned as his three years' tenure had ended. Further, the former director added that it was up to the government to release the report and he had nothing to say on the matter. Moreover, when asked if he was a person discriminating against people in the name of caste? He said, "I don't even keep a caste surname. I have never thought about caste or acted on its basis. In Kerala, caste is the best marketing tool. Students were misled (by the vested interest) using this caste card," he added.
The protest at the government-run institute in Kottayam ended on Monday, January 23, after the Kerala government held negotiations with the students. Previously, a committee from the Higher Education Department had recommended replacing the director and conducting an investigation into the allegations against him, as reported by PTI.
The situation came to light after some cleaning staff at the institute complained that Mohan's wife had made them clean the toilets of her residence. Additionally, Institute Chairman Adoor Gopalakrishnan received criticism from some former students after he allegedly supported Mohan and made a derogatory comment about a teacher who supported the student protest.
