By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: “Exceptional leadership by Hon’ble PM of India, Shri @narendramodi ji steering India’s position as a responsible superpower in the global arena.@UNECOSOC,” a tweet of Dr Achyuta Samanta, the ruling BJD’s Lok Sabha MP, from tribal dominated and conversion hit Kandhamal Parliamentary seat, said dated July 18.
In the same day, the KIIT (deemed to be University) Group, founder, Dr Samanta in another tweet “intend to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as BJP top brass happy, “added India, I believe too should be a permanent member of security council with veto power.All in all, UNSC calls for reform because the global realities have changed.@unsc,”.
It was pertinent to mentioned that the present BJP National VP-Spokesperson and former Kendrapara MP , Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda had faced the ire of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after he praised Modi in twitter and his subsequent writings in National media had not gone well with BJD boss suspended Panda from Party just before the 2019 general polls and ensured his defeat against actor Anubhav Mohanty from Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat.
Making a satire in ‘Nirbhaya Gumara Katha’ a YouTube video series , senior Journalist Navin Das said “ Dr Samanta adopting Modi Saranam Gachhami Mantra now as he seems lost confidence of his Party boss,”.
It may be noted here that the Dr Samanta run KIIT University had came under scanner of Union Human Resources Development Ministry and as well as University Grant Commission(UGC) for its alleged role in faking documents to get the status of ‘Institute of Eminence(IOE). Ministry had asked the UGC to look into the issue but nothing has happened yet while CBI cases are still pending against Dr Samanta and KIIT over KIMS’s MCI approval issue for MBBS admission.
According to the UGC’s regulations on the IoE scheme, the sponsoring organisation is a “charitable or a not-for-profit Society or a public Trust or a Company incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013” applying to upgrade an existing private institution or a new one to an IoE.The eligibility criterion states the collective net worth of the members of the sponsoring organisation should be Rs 3,000 crore for existing institutions and Rs 5,000 crore for new ones.
However, the application KIIT show that both have provided the market value of current assets, such as land and building, as the net worth of the sponsoring organisation.The above eligibility clause was at the source of a lot of heartburn among many private higher education institutions as it had left them out of the application process.
Dr Samanta and his KIIT had earlier came under scanner of CBI for faking documents, man power and infrastructure support to get MCI approval for MBBS admission in KIMS 10 years back, now with HRD Ministry asking UGC, in which Dr Samanta had earlier as a Member before being elected a Lok Sabha MP from Odisha’s Kandhamal in last 2019 Parliamentary polls.
Sources said, after media reports, particularly, several reports that published in New Delhi based ‘The Indian Express’, HRD Ministry took serious note of another major scam of KIIT University and has sought an explanation from UGC on whether the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar in Odisha and Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu are eligible for the ‘Institution of Eminence’ (IoE) status.On August 2, 2019, UGC had declared KIIT and VITas IoEs despite not meeting the eligibility criterion on the net worth of the sponsoring organisation members.
KIIT’s application pegs the net worth of its four-member sponsoring organisation, KIIT Society, at Rs 10,000 crore. “The society is a non-profit organisation. The net-worth of individual members of the society do not contribute towards financing the Deemed to be university. Net worth of the organisation is around (Rs) 10,000 crores,” the application, said according to The Indian Express report. It then lists the value of KIIT Society’s cash in hand, bank balance, investment in fixed deposits, loans and advances, land and building, among other things, in the net worth statement.
It may be noted here that near about 7 years back, CBI had came to know about KIIT empire’s illegal business but off late , CBI had registered a case against sitting BJD Lok Sabha MP from Kandhamal Dr Achyut Samant. But nothing has happened yet.
Dr Samant was at that time Member of University Grant Commission, as a result of which, Medical Council of India had derecognised its MBBS course for two years in KIIT University run Kalinga Institute of Medical Science(KIMS).MCI had debarred the KIMS in Bhubaneswar from running MBBS course for year 2012-13 and 2012-14 because of the allegations levelled against the Institute by the CBI.The CBI had charged KIMS officials, including its then principal Bhagabati Charan Das, of party to a massive forgery to give an impression – at least on documents – that the Institute met the criteria for running an MBBS programme in 2010.
KIIT and KIMS had paid hefty amount to the medicos to masquerade as KIMS doctors. CBI had charge sheeted KIMS Dean Cum Principal BC Das, Secretary Dr Samant, APO Debasish Debata and Deputy CEO Dilip Kumar Panda. Cases were registered under sections 120(B), 420(Cheating), 468(Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471(using forged documents as genuine) and 176 of IPC
KIMS is affiliated to the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University (KIIT), which was founded by Dr Samanta. The CBI had also chargesheeted Dr Samanta, accusing him of cheating and forgery.After the CBI case, the Naveen Patnaik Government had suspended seven doctors for faking as employees of KIMS to save it from MCI de-recognition.
The suspended doctors were suspended at that time including Bablu Tudu(posted at Badampahad in Mayurbhanj, JP Behera(Bhawanipatna District Headquarters’ Hospitals), AS Pal(Madhupur, Kalahandi, Manoranjan Panigrahi(Police Hospital, Bhawanipatna), Jagannath Hansda(Gadia, Mayurbhanj), JR Pradhan(Rangamatia, Mayurbhanj and Sanjay Kumar Sahoo(Muribahal in Balangir) under the Odisha Civil Services(Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules , 1962.
Under scanner former Supreme Court judge, Justice IM Quddusi during his term with Odisha High Court downplayed several cases against Dr Achyut Samanta led KIIT and KIMS. Many writ petitions from Dr Achyuta led organizations are allowed which has raised millions of questions.Justice Quddui;s son Raghat Quddusi’s love.com film was shooting in different places of KIIT and Kalinga group of institutions few years back.
A RTI activist demanded the review of all the judgements declared during Qudussi’s time in Achyuta Samanta related matters. He added, ‘transparency is key to justice. After arrest of Justice Quddusi by CBI on graft charges, his verdicts now are suspected’. Leading RTI activists have said, ‘the allegation is serious. they have been questioning illegality of Dr Samanta since past several years.
It is to be noted that information revealed through RTI that Dr Samanta led organizations run without approval from environmental authority. Further, National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed to restore the pristine conditions of forest which is under illegal possession of his organizations. “To escape from these maladies, Dr Samanta now coming close to BJP establishments,” added sources in BJP adding KIIT founder seems trying to irritate his party Boss knowingly.
