BANGALORE:In the wake of allegations that he was trying to sell 50 acres land in Jnana Bharathi campus for the proposed School of Economics, Bangalore University (BU) Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev is contemplating legal action against all parties involved in the ‘smear campaign’. A day after he sought public opinion on whether he should go ahead with the School of Economics, the VC told Express,“How can such baseless allegations be made? What will the Jindal Group think after having invested `100 crore? I will speak to my lawyer and discuss the possibility of filing a case against those who have made such ridiculous allegations.”
Some university officials and Syndicate members had alleged that the V-C was trying to sell the land worth `250 crore for just `50 crore. “It is a very well-planned tarnishing campaign. The vengeful attitude of a few university officials is taking a toll on the materialization of the project. I will soon talk to my advocate about this,” he said.
‘Overwhelming Response from Public’
VC Prabhu Dev said that he received ‘overwhelming’ response from the public regarding the School of Economics. “In just one day, I received more than 30 emails and 20 phone calls. I never anticipated such response from the public,” he said. The senders include former vice-chancellors, administrators, economists and common people.
“The need for a public referendum rose because I have become ‘insecure’ about the future of the School. After my term is over, what if my successors loose interest? The University will be at a loss,” said Prabhu Dev. He said that he would wait for ten more days for all the public opinions to come in. “Once I have received all the opinions in ten days, I will compile the data and present it to the Jindal Group. I want them to take a call,” he said, adding that he was personally interested to see the project through.