Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday questioned the appointment of BJP MP Chetan Chauhan as the chairman of the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, accusing
Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday questioned the appointment of BJP MP Chetan Chauhan as the chairman of the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, accusing the Narendra Modi government of assembling an army of “sycophants” in prestigious institutions.
“Modiji has selectively assembled an army of sycophants — Gajendra Chauhan, Chetan Chauhan, Pahlaj Nihalani, Smriti Irani,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted. He also named a media person in the tweet.
When contacted, Mr Chauhan said: “I have been appointed (as Nift chairman) by the Government of India and I will work to the best of my ability.” He termed as “baseless” Mr Kejriwal’s remarks and the allegation by AAP that he was being rewar-ded for “shielding” Uni-on finance minister Ar-un Jaitley in the alleged DDCA irregularities.
The AAP mocked the appointment, wondering whether author Chetan Bhagat would be made the next RBI Governor, actor Anupam Kher the Isro chief and former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse the NIA chief.
“Chauhan’s appointment is similar to the appointments to institutions like the FTII and CBFC. This is absurd. He doesn’t know ‘F’ of fashion, and he is the same person who defended Jaitley. And his appointment has the blessings of Amit Shah and Modi,” AAP spokesperson Mr Raghav Chadha told reporters.
Set up in 1986, the premier fashion institute, which has centres across the country, comes under the Union Ministry of Textiles. As per the NIFT Act 2006, the chairperson of the institute’s board of governors shall be an eminent academician, scientist or technologist or professional, who is to be nominated by the Visitor, in this case the President of India.
