Respected Sir,
My name is Dr George Paul. I am a practising Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Salem, Tamilnadu.
This is to bring to your notice that there maybe ineligible candidates for the post of VC of the prestigious TN Dr MGR Medical University, who have been short listed.
I wish to inform you through this open letter that I am acquainted with the case of Dr S M Balaji who has been interviewed. He is ineligible ( ab initio) for consideration on account of the fact that there is a criminal case pending against him. I am bringing this to your notice for two reasons
- I am a complainant and a petitioner in the case no. Crl OP 25521/2021 which was quashed but has now been recalled by a honourable judge of the Madras High Court and numbered as Crl MP no 17942/ 2022.
- Dr S M Balaji has been short listed and interviewed despite the objections raised by me to the Convenor Shri V K Subburaj on 8/ 05/2023 through e mail and speed post.
The application form for VC requires a declaration that no criminal case should be pending against an applicant. There is clear violation by the candidate and the Committee which short listed him. I have withdrawn my candidature for VC before making this representation to avoid speculation as to the motive for my posting this letter. I have all the documentation to show the complete details of the case which involves criminal intimidation and criminal offences under the Information technology Act.
In fact Dr SM Balaji has admitted in Court on 23/12/2021 that his employee was made to write a defamatory and intimidating letter under a pseudonymous name in 2014, casting false aspersions on several eminent surgeons including me. In addition to this being a bar on his candidature, it is also a matter of moral depredation and such a candidate is clearly unsuitable for a responsible position in academia.
I wish to further express my sentiment, as a former teacher and present practitioner in TN, with a long relationship with the TN DrMGRMedical University since 1989, that the person selected to head the state university should be an accomplished teacher ( private or government) with experience in academic administration and should have an honest unblemished personal record of honesty, and should be free of any moral turpitude.
If one were to believe the newspapers and social media, it is clear that the decks have been cleared to appoint a pre- determined person. There may also be conflict of interest between members of search committee and the candidates.
I have been a long standing supporter of the welfare schemes of the Dravidian parties and the legacy left behind by the founding fathers of the state and others who followed them. TN has always stood up for social justice and welfare, particularly in the field of health. This is because of the excellent medical institutions and healthcare network laid down by several governments, including the DMK.
It has also come to our notice that several eminent persons who studied and taught in Government Medical and Dental Colleges have been ignored in the selection process and don’t find a place in the short list prepared by the Search committee to be forwarded to the Governor and Chancellor of the University. This includes highly accomplished professors , administrators, Deans of Medical / Dental Colleges, Former and serving Directors of Medical Education and even serving Vice Chancellors in Deemed Universities.
It is therefore surprising and out of place when private medical or dental practitioners are given charge of a University with more than 800 medical, dental, nursing, physiotherapy and other courses. The fact that some of them like Dr S M Balaji did not obtain their education through merit and actually took two attempts to pass his post graduate examinations is a reflection on their background. I do not know if there are others like him. He has never been a full time staff in any academic institution and whatever may have been shown as full time academic tenure in past or present applications is possibly fabricated. This is borne out by the fact that he has never been an internal or external examiner even once. Dr Balaji has also tried to do MBBS in a private Medical College, while working full time in his private dental clinic. He was forced to discontinue for want of attendance.
It is therefore distressing to understand the compulsions that make a responsible government or search committee to even consider such a person despite his basic ineligibility on account of a pending criminal case.
It is still not too late and I hope that the Chief Minister and Governor will use their good office to ensure that an unsullied person with genuine academic credentials occupies this high office.
Thanking you
Sincerely
George Paul
F 72 Brindavan Road
Fairlands
Salem-636016, TN
Cc:
Convenor Search Committee
