A day after accusing the Union HRD Ministery of political interference in the university’s administration, the Allahabad University VC, Ratan Lal Hangloo on Thursday performed a U-turn.
In a letter sent to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Hangloo declared that there had been no interference in the affairs of the university by the Centre, the Ministry of Human Resource Development and HRD Minister Smriti Irani.
According to ANI, copies of the letter have reportedly been forwarded to the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the HRD Minister’s office, Vice Chancellor Hangloo said.
On Wednesday, Hangloo was quoted by media of having said that “political interference” had brought the administrative machinery of the varsity to a “standstill” and that the HRD ministry should remove him from the office and instead, allow any MP or MLA to take charge of the university.
Hangloo had even offered to resign and resume teaching if the ministry so wished.
Hangloo had reportedly made these comments to the media after his office received a fax letter from the HRD ministry on Tuesday afternoon directing the university to provide an offline entrance test option along with the online test for admission to post graduate courses.
However, in his new letter to Ansari, Hangloo said, “This is to state that we are trying to reinforce the dignity of the Allahabad Central University with our thrust on high end research and development, and the Honourable Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani has always encouraged us with her rare flash of brilliance. There have been twisted statements by the press and media which should be ignored in totality.”
The letter further went on to say, “The Honourable Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani or any of her officers has never interfered with the functioning of this university.”