NEW DELHI: St Stephen's principal Valson Thampu today attacked alumni MPs of the college for their decision to raise issues, including the move to amend the 102- year-old Constitution of the premier academic institution, in the Parliament.
Asserting himself as an alumni of St Stephen's, Thampu in his Facebook post accused the alumni MPs of "intimidating" the institution.
A group of alumni and teachers of St Stephen's, in a press briefing yesterday had opposed Thampu's move to amend the institution's Constitution, adding that the college issues will be raised in the Parliament, besides seeking intervention of the President of India (college Visitor) and the HRD Minister.
The alumni including MPs Kirti Azad, Kunwar Bhartendra Singh, Kalikesh Singh Deo and former Union Minister Sandeep Dikshit were present in the briefing.
"The mindset of some of my fellow Stephanians is analogous to the Zamindari system. As long as the alumni of St Stephen's do not emerge from this 'zamindari mentality' - of taking by force, or presuming ownership-from-a-distance- St Stephen's will know no peace," Thampu wrote in his facebook post.
Claiming that he was expressing his views and sentiments as a Stephanian and not as the principal of the college.
Thampu further alleged "there are over 35,000 colleges in our country. Not one of them is targeted and defamed, maligned and vilified as diabolically as St Stephen's is."
Attacking the alumni pitted against him, he said "their contribution to developing the stature and culture of the College is an inflated zero. None of them has done anything for the College, even by mistake."
The alumni MPs have decided to raise the St Stephen's issues in the Parliament on Monday.
"There are at least 17 alumni of St Stephen's who sit in the Parliament. The issues including the non-democratic functioning of the college administration and proposed changes in the Constitution will be raised in Parliament on Monday," Kriti Azad said.
The amendment in the Constitution of the college proposes to replace St Stephen's College Trust, which currently runs the institution, with a St Stephen's Educational Society that will have the power to establish Stephen's-like private institutions across the country, besides giving a major say to the Church of North India (CNI) in its functioning.