Terming it as "political malice", Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot today condemned the BJP-led state government's decision to shut down Haridev Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication and the decision to merge it with University of Rajasthan.
The previous Congress government had set up the HJUJMC for higher and quality studies and research in mass media, but it was closed without any logic and justification which is highly condemnable, Pilot told reporters here.
"Earlier, the BJP government had shut down the Ambedkar Law University set up by the previous Gehlot government, and now HJUJMC, which showed the narrow mindedness and political malice of Raje government," he alleged.
The state government in a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by chief minister Vasundhara Raje, had yesterday decided among others to shut down HJUJMC, set up in 2012 during Congress regime, and merge it with the University of Rajasthan.
Stating that a legal case on the university was pending in the state High Court, Pilot said, "the government should have waited for final verdict".
The department of Journalism and Mass Communication existing in University of Rajasthan is already facing a financial crunch, and the merger of HJ university would only add to the problems, he added.
He alleged that the Raje government was misusing the huge public mandate it got in assembly polls.
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Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Leader of Opposition (Congress) Rameshwar Dudi also criticised the closure of HJUJMC by the BJP government.
In a separate statements, Gehlot said it was most unfortunate that the BJP government closed down the first Ambedkar Law University, then HJUJMC without any proper justification, and also shifted Jan Jaati VishwaVidhyaly from Udaipur to Banwara to appease tribals.
While Dudi said if the Congress returned to power in 2019 assembly polls, the same university would set up again.
"It is fascist move of the BJP government to close varsities one after another which were opened by the previous Congress government. It is an insult to Rajasthan's glorious history and development of Journalism in the state", he alleged.
