Padma Shri as return gift?

A former Delhi principal received one of India's highest awards along with Dhoni, Helen and others. Campus had exploded in protest when he hired wife of minister Jaipal Reddy's secy as lecturer. Guess who proposed his name for Padma? Mr Jaipal Reddy, finds MiD DAY

IF you know the right people, even the Padma Shri could come as a personal gift, it seems.

Former colleagues of a retired principal of Delhi's Sri Venkateswara College, who got the award on Tuesday along with Indian cricketers MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh, actor Helen and others, have alleged that the Padma Shri came his way as a return favour from Union Minister Jaipal Reddy.

In reply to an RTI application filed by a professor of the college, a copy of which is available with MiD DAY, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Jaipal Reddy had recommended the name of A Sankara Reddy for the award.

Sankara Reddy did not respond to repeated calls and text messages sent to him on his cellphone.

We called Jaipal Reddy's New Delhi residence where a person by the name of Somu00a0who claimed himself to be Reddy's personal assistantu00a0assured us that the minister would call back. But he did not.

Sankara Reddy's former colleagues say he hired the wife of Jaipal Reddy's private secretary as professor of History even though there were other more deserving candidates. The issue had snowballed into a major controversy and was widely reported in the media.

"How can Sankara Reddy get the Padma Shri? Last year he employed an under-qualified candidate as a History professor simply because she was the wife of Jaipal Reddy's private secretary. Through an RTI application we found that Reddy had recommended his name for the award. This is like a return gift," said Arup Singh, professor and executive member of the teachers' association of Venkateswara College.

CMS Rawat, president of the Teachers'u00a0 Association, said the hiring of Professor Nuti Namita was a gross violation of university guidelines. "She only had a postgraduate degree and had no teaching experience. There were candidates who were armed with PhDs, but Namita got the job because of her husband's position. She was initially hired on an ad hoc basis for four months, but she has been here for more than a year now. The guidelines clearly say the college should have hired some one else by now on a temporary or permanent basics. But nothing of that sort has happened," he said.

College professors allege that the Union government did not do a background check on Sankara Reddy before giving him the award. Nirmal Kumar, History professor with the college, said Sankara Reddy was also involved in a Provident Fund controversy involving crores.

"Before Reddy retired from the college we found out that he had transferred money from the Provident Fund accounts of around 53 teachers to a bank in Tirupati without informing us. After we filed a petition, an inquiry was initiated and our money was transferred back to a Delhi bank. We do not know what interest Reddy had in transferring the money to a Tirupati-based bank," said Kumar.

During the staff council meeting on March 30, 2009, the current Principal HL Reddy informed the staff that during Sankara Reddy's tenure, the college was fined over Rs 40 lakh in penalties.

"DDA, MCD and other government agencies had slapped fines of over Rs 40 lakh for violating several building norms. Sankara had to oblige Jaipal Reddy to get out of this mess. So he offered the wife of Reddy's private secretary a job with the college," said Arup Singh.

The college was fined around Rs 27 lakh by the electricity department for misuse of power. "Reddy's indecision led to huge financial losses for the college. Some years ago, he built a bathroom block near the canteen worth several lakhs. But it was a faulty construction and had to be demolished. Such a controversial man got one of the country's most prestigious awards. It's a shame," said Singh.