Normally it is the AIADMK cadres and leaders who call party supremo and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ‘Puratchi Thalaivi Amma’ without mentioning her name in party meetings, Assembly or in Corporation council meetings.
Now Madurai Kamaraj University too followed the tradition, and the university authorities went a step ahead by carrying it in print in an academic resolution.
In a resolution regarding the creation of infrastructure facilities for the Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management in the Senate meeting agenda, the university authorities had stated that “the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Avargal announced in the Legislative Assembly.... about sanctioning an amount of Rs.3.5 crore”.
The agenda copy was circulated to the Senate members and media on Thursday, and the Chief Minister’s name was not mentioned in the resolution.
When Syndicate member K. Pitchumani read out the resolution seeking the approval of the Senate members, some members wondered how such sobriquets were used in an important meeting of the academic fraternity.
Interestingly, the reference to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa appeared on page number 9 — considered to be her lucky number — of the Senate agenda copy.
When contacted, MKU Registrar (in-charge) A. Muthumanickam admitted that it was a mistake on the part of the university administration to have allowed it. “It should have been edited and deleted in the final print. We failed to do so,” he said.
Meanwhile, the annual Senate meeting, which lasted for one and a half hours, unanimously approved the 2014-15 annual budget estimates. Though 42 Senate members attended the meeting, no one asked any question on expenditure, funds allocation, construction of buildings and revenue sources for the university.
“See how the Senate meeting was conducted. There was no deliberation on any issue, and I was also not interested in raising any issues,” a senior member from Science Department said.
R. Kannan, a Syndicate member, in his budget speech said the budget was prepared on the pattern recommended by the University Grants Commission and approved by the State government.
