D.Litt Row: Kerala Varsity VC Says He Was Being Careful With The Grammar And Spelling Of His Life
NDTV
The Governor had also criticised the language and style of the letter written to him by the Vice Chancellor
Kerala University Vice Chancellor V P Mahadevan Pillai, who is at the centre of a controversy over denial of D.Litt to President Ram Nath Kovind, on Tuesday issued a statement saying he was being careful with the "grammar and spelling of his life." His statement came a day after he was pulled up by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan for the manner in which Pillai wrote a letter to him conveying that certain university Syndicate members had turned down the proposal for conferring the D.Litt on the President. The Governor had also criticised the language and style of the letter written to him by the Vice Chancellor.
"I am very careful not to lose the grammar and spelling of life. The hands tend to tremble when the mind is shaken and I do not see it as a shortcoming," Pillai said in a statement typed out in Malayalam on a Kerala University letter-head, adding that there will be no more reactions. This was his first reaction in the entire episode.
A handwritten letter purportedly by Pillai came out in public domain on Saturday confirming that the Governor had recommended to confer an honorary D.Litt degree on President Kovind. His letter was trolled by political parties including the BJP for its mistakes in it and the unprofessional manner in which it was given to the Governor.
The letter also revealed that the Vice Chancellor, instead of convening a Syndicate meeting to decide on the matter, had merely "discussed" it with some Syndicate members and informed the Governor that the University Syndicate had turned down the proposal.