Somaiya principal row: Probe still on, says school

A day after Parveen Shaikh, principal of The Somaiya School, spoke out regarding the Somaiya Trust's management seeking her resignation, a spokesperson for the trust stated that the matter is still under investigation.

According to Shaikh, the management contacted and scheduled a meeting with her to explain allegations raised in a report on an online news portal. The report accused her of engaging in activities such as liking and commenting on tweets and posts that were pro-Hamas, anti-Hindu and critical of the BJP regime. Following this, she was asked to resign on April 26, she said.

Shaikh had stated, "During the meeting, they expressed disappointment with the content of the news portal article and conveyed that, despite recognising my hard work and contributions to the school, they could no longer continue our association."

On Thursday, speaking to mid-day, Shaikh mentioned that the management has verbally asked for her resignation, yet nothing has been provided to her in writing. "The management has not given me anything in writing, nor have they contacted me since the meeting on April 26," she stated, maintaining her stance of refusing to resign.

The incident
As per reports, Shaikh via her X (formerly Twitter) handle @ParveenShaikh1 liked and made comments on pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas, anti -Hindu and anti-Modi regime tweets. In one of the tweets by a handle Rants&Roast asking for a caption in a bubble to a picture where PM Modi is seen bending a little while standing next to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Shaikh replied "Tommy fetch".

In one of the tweets dated June 2022, with a link to an article wherein Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan stated that Qatar's demand for a public apology over remarks on the prophet Mohammed was not important, Shaikh replied, "They have sold their soul to the devil". She has also been accused of sympathising with Umar Khalid, an accused in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy' case.

Parveen Shaikh, principal, The Somaiya School

Following these allegations against Shaikh, the Somaiya Trust's management issued a statement and even posted it on social media platforms, stating, "We were unaware of the sentiments expressed until it was brought to our notice. We do not agree with such sentiments. It is certainly concerning. We are looking into the matter." After this, the management has neither issued any statement pertaining to the case nor denied asking Shaikh to resign.

TrustSpeak
Despite Shaikh claiming that she has been asked to resign the spokesperson for the Somaiya Trust, which runs the school, did not confirm or deny that Shaikh has been asked to resign on account of the allegations about her social media activity. "We are looking into the matter. The investigation is still underway, and no statement has been made yet about this," the spokesperson told mid-day on Thursday.