Allahabad University VC alleges political interference, threatens to leave with associates

ALLAHABAD: Alleging that " political interference" has brought the administrative machinery of Allahabad University to a "standstill", its Vice Chancellor has threatened to leave with his associates and said MPs or MLAs can be made VCs instead of acamedicians to toe the government line.

"This is a central university and used to be called the Oxford of the East in the past. There can be no possibility of the institution regaining its lost glory if political interference continues," Allahabad University VC, RL Hangloo, who recently drew flak from BJP leaders over his handling of a students' agitation, told reporters here.

He alleged that many politicians belonging to Congress, BJP, SP and AVBP, were involved in the university affairs and the varsity will not grow if politicians interfere.

"We want to take the university on the path of excellence and this is a jolt to our aim. All my associates are saying this is a jolt to the university and politicians are hampering the university's growth. The political interference is a setback for the university.

"If politicians continue to interfere, we all will have to leave. Then government can run the university as per their opinion. Then it would be better to have MLAs or MPs as VCs in place of acamedicians," Hangloo said yesterday.

He was responding to questions about the varsity's decision, announced yesterday, to keep offline option open for entrance tests for post-graduate courses in the upcoming academic session.

The decision, whereby the university reversed its earlier stance that entrance tests would be held only through the online mode, is understood to have followed a meeting between some BJP MPs and HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

The BJP lawmakers are said to have brought to Irani's notice that a number of students' union leaders, including its vice president and general secretary who belong to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), were on a hunger strike to press the demand for the offline option, saying it was important for candidates hailing from remote areas with poor internet connectivity.