Chennai: A Ph.D scholar from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University refused to receive her degree from Tamil Nadu Governor R.N.Ravi during the 32nd convocation held Wednesday.
The incident comes in the backdrop of a continuing boycott of Governor Ravi’s events by Tamil Nadu ministers amid the tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led government.
At the event that took place inside the University premises in Tirunelveli district, Jean Rajan, who has done her Ph.D in Business Administration, went to the convocation stage and refused to get her certificate from Governor Ravi and instead, she received it from vice-chancellor N.Chandrasekar.
The scholar is wife of the deputy secretary of DMK town committee in Nagercoil district.
Later, Jean told the media that she declined to get the degree from Governor Ravi since he was working against the interests of Tamil Nadu and Tamil people.
“It’s my degree and my choice. There are a lot of people eligible in the state to give the degree to us including the chief minister and the education Minister. I believe in the Dravidian model of government and hence, I did this as a mark of my protest against the governor,” she told the media.
By declining to receive the degree from the Governor, Jean said that she is questioning the functioning of the system. “As a graduate, as a professional, this is the way I can express my feelings and question the system.”
Asked if the vice-chancellor told her something, Jean said that she was told to receive the degree from the Governor. “However, I declined to receive it from him and the Governor also accepted it.”
The public relations officer at the Raj Bhavan refused to comment when reached via call on the episode.
(Edited by Tony Rai)