Director of a BJP-affiliated body and a party MP's wife have been nominated to the reconsititued Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), the highest advisory body on education in the country.
Anirban Ganguly, Director of Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Research Foundation, a BJP outfit, and actress Swarup Sampat, wife of BJP MP from Ahmedabad (East) Paresh Rawal are notable nominated members in the body, which is headed by HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
The 19 nominated members also include Swami Atmapriyananda, Vice-Chancellor of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a known follower of the Ramakrishna Mission sect and had travelled to the Belur Math in May this year during his visit to West Bengal.
While Atmapriyananda has been nominated under the category of 'eminent academicians', Sampat has been nominated under the category of 'creative arts'.
Besides, CABE comprises heads of some central institutes such as vice-chancellor of Central University of Gujarat Syed A Bari and vice-chancellor of Uttarakhand University Jawahar Kaul, considered close to the HRD minister.
They have also figured in committees constituted by the ministry.
CABE was reconstituted on June 11, with 19 nominated members from different fields, apart from ex-officio members, various union ministers and vice-chancellors of different universities.
Among nominees representing languages is Pankaj Trimbak Chande, former vice-chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar, as well as Naheed Abidi, a Padma Shri awardee.
Vice-chancellor of National Bal Bhawan Indumati Rao, founder secretary of Drishti Stree Adhayayan Prabodhan Kendra Pune Anjali Deshpande, entrepreneur Sanjeev Bikhchandani and co-founder of Team Lease India Manish Sabharwal have also been included as nominated members.
Sabharwal's firm has reportedly placed more than half a million people in temporary and permanent jobs since 2002.
The nominated member under the category of 'media representative' is Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah.
