BANGALORE: A day after Bangalore University’s 47th annual convocation was shrouded with controversy surrounding the absence of Governor H R Bhardwaj and rejection of the list of people who were to be conferred honorary doctorates, Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev has sought to clear the air over both the matters.
Speaking to Express on the sidelines of the function here on Friday, Prabhu Dev rubbished media reports that the Governor missed the convocation owing to misunderstanding between the two.
“I knew three days before that the Governor was leaving for Kerala on official work. I was really stressed out and angered by interpretations such as the Governor ‘boycotted’ the convocation as he was upset with me. I am sorry that I shouted, but I was disappointed with such reports,” he said.
On the question of why the list of people who were to be conferred honorary doctorates was rejected, the V-C denied having any role in preparing the list. “There is a provision to seek Syndicate recommendations via circulation, without convening a special meeting. I wrote to each Syndicate member for recommendations. Each member came up with 3-4 names. I took a list of 18 names to the Governor for approval,” he said.
Commenting on allegations that he included a few names in the list out of personal agenda, he said, “The list that went to the Governor had names given by the Syndicate members themselves. I did not have anything to do with the list, nor did I have any personal agenda.”
He said that the Governor rejected the list as there was no 2/3rd majority. “The Act mandates that there has to be 2/3rd majority to select honorary doctorates. The Governor knew there was no majority and rejected the list,” he said.