Guterres appoints Indian Army officer as commander of UN mission in South Sudan
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a decorated Indian Army officer as the new Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.
Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar, 57, will succeed Lieutenant General Frank Kamanzi of Rwanda who completes his assignment on May 26. The announcement was made by the UN chief on Friday.
The decorated Indian Army officer "has had a long and distinguished career with the Indian Armed Forces spanning over 34 years," a statement by the UN Spokesperson said.
Tinaikar graduated from the Indian Military Academy in 1983 and is currently serving as the Commandant of the Infantry School since July 2018.
He previously served as the Additional Director General of Military Operations at the Army Headquarters from 2017 to 2018. From 2012 to 2017, he commanded a division, a recruit training centre and a brigade.
Tinaikar was awarded the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal for distinguished service.
From 1996 to 1997, he served in the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III, and from 2008 to 2009, in the United Nations Mission in Sudan.
He holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Defence and Strategic Studies from The University of Madras.
India, the fourth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN peacekeeping missions, currently contributes more than 6,400 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, the Middle East, South Sudan and the Western Sahara.
The UN mission in South Sudan, a country born in July 2011, has 19,400 personnel deployed with it as of March 2019.
India is the second highest troop contributing country to UNMISS with 2,337 Indian peacekeepers, second only to Rwanda with 2,750. In addition, India currently contributes 22 police personnel to UNMISS.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP slams move to make CM Siddaramaiah as RDPR varsity chancellor replacing Guv
Bengaluru (PTI): Opposition BJP on Friday condemned the government's move to make the chief minister the chancellor of the Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) University replacing the governor, terming it as an attempt to pollute the higher education system.
State BJP president B Y Vijayendra said this attempt to cut down on the powers of the governor is a conspiracy to upset the constitutional system.
The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved a bill, according to which the chief minister will be appointed as the chancellor, replacing the governor at the RDPR University in Gadag.
The governor is the chancellor for all public universities in Karnataka.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot currently holds the post.
"With a good intention that politics should not mix in education and as per the intent of the constitution, the Governor who is also the constitutional head of the state is the chancellor of the universities. But the government led by Siddaramaiah (CM), which is engaged in a series of corruption, by abusing its existing powers, is trying to pollute the higher education system," Vijayendra posted on 'X'.
He said the government's move will allow "unnecessary political interference" in the field of rural development studies.
"The Congress government, which has been impatient towards the governor since the beginning, sees him as an enemy to cut down on the powers, and it is a conspiracy to upset the constitutional system. This move of the state government is highly condemnable," he added.
Earlier in September, the cabinet, at a meeting held in Kalaburagi, decided to divest the governor of the power to appoint the vice-chancellor of RDPR University.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil on Thursday defended the government's move and said, "It will make the university more active and quick decisions will be taken...this system is there in many states, including Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh."
