Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was conferred an honorary doctoral degree (honoris causa) by the Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, a private deemed university, in Chennai on Sunday.
A.C. Shanmugam, the founder of the institution, handed over the honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) to Mr. Palaniswami at the 28th convocation of the institution.
Mr. Shanmugam, who heads the New Justice Party, an ally of the ruling AIADMK, said the doctorate should not be seen as being awarded to the CM by him or his university, but “by the souls of late AIADMK leaders and former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa”.
A citation, which was read out on the occasion, described Mr. Palaniswami as a “world-renowned politician” who was successfully leading the government of Tamil Nadu by providing an “honest, disciplined and efficient administration”.
Describing Mr. Palaniswami as “a great legislator and an eminent parliamentarian”, the citation said that “during his regime, because of his great efforts, Tamil Nadu has attained State GDP of 8.17%, while the national GDP is 6.81%”.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman G. Satheesh Reddy, Ganga Hospital chairman S. Raja Sabapathy, music director Harris Jayaraj and dancer/actor Shobana Chandrakumar were also conferred honorary doctorates. Mr. Palaniswami handed over the degrees to them.
“My responsibilities have increased on being conferred the honorary doctoral degree,” the CM said. The government had earmarked ₹28,957 crore and ₹4,584 crore towards school education and higher education, respectively, this financial year, he said, adding, “We have submitted a request to [allow us to] start six more medical colleges in district headquarters. The Centre is considering our request.”
Mr. Reddy said the DRDO will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Tamil Nadu for equipping the workforce with the skills needed for the proposed Defence Corridor in the State.
A total of 2,481 students from various disciplines received their degrees during the convocation.
Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam, a few Ministers and former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai were present.
