New Delhi: Following the deletion of a controversial Twitter account filled with mockery of minorities as well as copious amounts of right wing propaganda, the newly-appointed Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University has come under fire for the purported lack of writing skills displayed in her latest press release.
Stating that the new press release by JNU VC Santisree Dhulipudi Pundit was an "exhibition of illiteracy", Congress leader Varun Gandhi lamented the state of appointments in such a major University and said he feared for the future of the youth there.
"The press release from the new JNU VC is an exhibition of illiteracy, littered with grammatical mistakes (would strive vs will strive; students friendly vs student-friendly; excellences vs excellence). Such mediocre appointments serve to damage our human capital and our youth's future," Varun Gandhi tweeted, sharing Santishree Pandit's statement.
Santishree Pandit is the first woman Vice Chancellor of JNU. She takes over from M Jagadesh Kumar, who had a controversial tenure as the head of the premier university and who will now head the University Grants Commission.
The press release contains. A few grammatical errors and a mention of a new emphasis on "Indo-centric" narratives which the VC said would be focused on in one highlighted portion of the statement.
"Wonder how many nations appoint people who have trouble stringing together two grammatical sentences to head one of their leading universities. And in how many of those nations does a section of the population applaud the choice?" tweeted Sadanand Dhime, columnist at the Wall Street Journal.
Pundit has come under fire from social media users and sections of the Opposition. Following the discovery of an account in her name and allegedly operated by her which shared many tweets voicing hatred towards Muslims and in some cases advocating for extreme action against minorities and insulting farmers.
"Losers from JNU who have lost control. Ban these extremist Naxal groups from campuses. Stop funding communal campuses like Jamia and St.Stephens," one tweet posted during the Jamia Milia University riots in 2020 read.
Another tweet said Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse took "opposite lessons" from the Bhagavad Gita. "Godse thought action was important and identified a solution for a united India in the assassination of one person Mahatma Gandhi. Sad," it read.
The account was deactivated yesterday shortly after screenshots of the offending tweets went viral.