Ranchi, Aug. 24: The spat between the government and vice-chancellor S.S. Kushwaha reached Raj Bhavan today with human resource development minister P.N. Singh reading out a list of complaints to Governor Ved Marwah.

Singh called on Marwah, who is also the chancellor of Ranchi University, and apprised him of the “negative impact” of Kushwaha’s reported statement on the government’s functioning.

The minister has taken strong exception to Kushwaha’s going public with his grievances against the government.

Referring to Kushwaha’s purported statement in Daltonganj on August 22 that the government was doing precious little to fill the vacancies of teachers, Singh said: “Not once or twice, I have sought a status on teachers’ vacancies 11 times. I can show the reminders punched in the department’s files.”

Continuing with his tirade, the minister said: “Whenever I sought to know the exact number of vacant posts against the sanctioned ones in Ranchi University, Kushwaha said it was over 700. Earlier when we had sought a similar detail from the three state universities, the total figure came to 650. How can it be that RU alone has 700 vacancies and three universities together require only 650?.”

Asked about the vacancies of teachers, university spokesperson S.S. Akhtar corroborated what Kushwaha had told the minister. “The number of teachers’ vacancies at Ranchi University is about 700,” Akhtar said.

Singh sees Kushwaha’s “political ambitions” behind his political barbs. “Kushwaha has been misusing his post to carry forth his clandestine politics. Kushwaha must have been influenced by the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar governments, which are envious of Jharkhand’s progress. He wants to provoke the teachers and students through wrong information,” the minister said.

The minister also claimed that Kushwaha was angry at the department’s decision to release college development funds directly to the principals instead of routing it through the university.

Singh spent about an hour at Raj Bhavan urging Marwah to take cognisance of the matter. Asked if he wanted Kushwaha to go, Singh said: “I am nobody to punish a vice-chancellor, it is up to the governor to decide his fate.” Kushwaha, who is currently in Varanasi, was not available for comments.