New twist in row at Dayal University

New Delhi: Amid ongoing controversy of renaming of the Delhi University’s Dyal Singh (Evening) College, chairperson of the college governing body Amitabh Sinha on Friday alleged that it is the opposition’s anti-national agenda at work.

He claimed that there was neither legal nor technical issues involved with the name Vandemataram Mahavidyalaya.

According to Mr Sinha, Supreme Court lawyer, a lobby inside the college forged by some opposition parties are misleading the people in general and the teachers’ fraternity and students in particular by propping up Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in order to make it appear like an issue concerning the Sikh community.

Mr Sinha cited regulation, precedents and orders of the University of Delhi to establish how this was not the first occasion when an evening college was given the morning slot and renamed.

Claiming former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal has been misled, Mr Sinha has invited him for a discussion or debate to clear the air over the renaming exercise.

“Either he convinces me and I reverse the decision to rename the new college, or I convince myself and he issues a statement clarifying that he was misled,” said Mr Sinha.

Giving the examples of Deshbandhu College and Ram Lal Anand College, which were renamed as Ramanujan College and Aryabhatta College respectively, Mr Sinha asked why there was no controversy over those exercises.

“Are Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Ram Lal Anand not respectable figures? When those colleges were renamed, were the legacies of C.R. Das and R.L. Anand insulted?” he asked.

Pointing out the college’s history, Mr Sinha said that the ‘trust’ failed to pay its dues, following which the control of the college was transferred wholly to the University of Delhi.