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Mulayam conferred honorary doctorate

Last Updated 30 September 2014, 19:27 IST

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was on Tuesday conferred honorary doctorate by a university whose highest authority was his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The honorary doctorate degree was conferred on Mulayam by UP governor Ram Naik at a function here in which Akhilesh was the chief guest.  Mulayam also delivered the convocation address. The award of the honorary degree by Dr Shakauntala Mishra University here raised a few eye brows and social activists took strong exception to it terming it a matter of ‘clash of interest’ and urging the state governor to reconsider the decision.

Akhilesh was the chairman of the General Council (GC) of the varsity, which according to the rules, was the highest decision making body. “It is the GC which takes a decision about award of honorary degrees”, said a varsity official here.

Social activist Nutan Thakur opposed the conferring  saying that it reflected a ‘clash of interest’. She has sent a representation to the state governor.

In her representation, she has said that this university had been established through the Dr Shakuntala Misra Rehabilitation University Uttar Pradesh Act 2009. “Section 9 of the Act provides for a general body (GB) of the university'', she said. “Among other things, the general body also appoints the vice-chancellor of the university and as per section 9(2), the chief minister is the chairman of the GB”.

“Honorary degree to Mulayam Singh from the same university where his son, the state chief minister, is the highest authority is a clear cut example of clash of interest and is also against the principle of natural justice”, Dr Thakur said in her representation. She urged the governor to use his powers of the visitor under Section 7 of the Act to reconsider this decision.

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(Published 30 September 2014, 19:27 IST)

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