AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor
Aligarh Muslim University Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor on Wednesday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi over the Jinnah portrait row. The Vice-Chancellor, while calling it a “non-issue”, is quoted by ANI as saying: “Jinnah’s portrait has been here (in the campus) since 1938. Jinnah’s portrait is at many places including Bombay HC and Sabarmati Ashram. No one was worried about the portraits until now, I think it is a non-issue.”
“Students agitation had no relation to Jinnah portrait row, they were protesting against people who came to AMU to disturb peace on May 2. Spoken to chief secretary for a judicial inquiry into the incident,” the V-C added.
On Tuesday, the AMU V-C had urged students to not let their studies suffer due to the unrest in the varsity. In an open letter to the students, he urged them “not to fall into the trap of certain forces that are bent upon destroying the image of our alma mater and are playing with your bright future”.
In his letter, Mansoor said he was pained that a negative image of the university is being propagated through some channels of the media, using “half-truths”. “The AMU is suffering an assault from different quarters and it is even more important to respond with rationality and thoughtful action and not to be swayed by emotions,” he said.
The prevailing tension in the campus led to calling off a function to grant life membership of the student union to former vice president Hamid Ansari and postponing of the exams, which will now begin on May 12.