On Saturday, the social media was on fire after the news of former cricketer and two-time BJP MP, Chetan Chauhan being appointed the new head of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) came in.
Many were left bewildered because they saw yet another political appointment by Narendra Modi government to head an institution of public eminence.
Chauhan too didn’t disagree and confessed that his appointment to head the NIFT was because of his association with the BJP.
He told Indian Express, “This is a government of India appointment. The names (for the post of chairman) are sent by the Ministry of Textiles… preference is given to people in the party (BJP).”
Chauhan, who is the vice president at the Delhi District Cricket Association and runs a cricket academy besides owning a newsprint business, thanked Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for his appointment.
The NIFT Act 2006 says that the chairperson of the Board of Governors (BoG) is expected to be “an eminent academician, scientist or technologist or professional, to be nominated by the Visitor” of the institute, which is the President. The term of the appointment is three years.
The 68-year-old former cricketer said that he got the job at the reputed fashion institute because of his cricketing and banking experience.
But Chauhan said that he will spend 60 per cent of the time in DDCA, 20 per cent at NIFT and 20 per cent in my business.”
“They examined many names and ultimately chose me because I am an international sportsman and have experience in banking. I worked with the Bank of Baroda as a Scale-4 officer based in Delhi. For 23 years, I spent quality time in banking,” he said.
The ministry of textiles has not made any comments yet. In the past, the Modi government had appointed Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the FTII. The decision had caused unprecedented protests by the students on the campus.