No meeting until I feel safe: BU V-C

BANGALORE: Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev and the university’s Syndicate members have entered twilight zone, following their fallout during the previous Syndicate meeting that was held on May 7. The VC, in a press statement on Friday, said that there will be no Syndicate meetings until there is an end to the hostile environment. Prabhu Dev claimed that the Syndicate members “threw water bottles” and that they were made to “court house arrest” by locking the entry and exit doors of the meeting hall. “Under the circumstances it would be impossible to hold a free and fair syndicate meeting. Hence the meeting of May 17 stood cancelled as it was under duress and threat of physical intimidation,” the VC said. On May 7, the VC had assured a meeting would be convened on May 17. He further added that he had written letters to CM D V Sadananda Gowda, Governor and Chancellor H R Bhardwaj and Principal Secretary for Higher Education H Siddaiah about the alleged violent behaviour of the Syndicate members. ‘Appoint Observer’Members of the Syndicate, however, have appealed to the CM and Governor to appoint an observer to prove that the V-C’s claims of violent behaviour are far from the truth. “As members, we democratically asked him why those issues were not on the agenda. It is not just those matters, but others concerning the welfare of students and teachers are pending for discussion,” said T H Srinivasaiah, a Syndicate member. “It is clear that he does not intend to convene the meeting. If he is an academician, he should know the problems in the university.  I don’t think he is an academician.  He is only a professional doctor. We appeal the government to pay heed to these issues,” he added.The members are outraged that several matters in the examinations section were not brought to their notice. “The university has a budget of Rs 230 crore.  The university gets around Rs 290 crore from colleges, and only around Rs 50 crore go towards salaries.  What happens to the rest? We get no answers to these questions. That is why the VC should discuss these matters with us,” said another Syndicate member