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Balayogi refuses doctorate, Jayaprada stays away

The fortieth annual convocation of the Sri Venkateswara University was held in Tirupati today amidst tight security following a threat by several student organisations to disrupt it in the wake of the controversy over the selection of some political personalities for the award of honorary doctorates.

Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi, who is attending a conference of speakers of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Male, the Maldives, said in his convocation address, which was read out in absentia, that universities should "promote social justice".

The ongoing process of economic liberalisation would ensure a quality life for the common man and result in a casteless society, he said.

Andhra Pradesh Governor C Rangarajan, who is the university's chancellor, conferred honorary doctorates on Dr Shanta, a cancer specialist from Madras, Laurence Wilfred Baker, a British-born, Kerala-based architect, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Y Venugopal Reddy, and linguists Prof Krishnamurthy and Subramanya Sarma.

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and actress Jayaprada, MP, who were also selected for the award of doctorates, did not attend the function.

Balayogi turned down the honorary doctorate conferred on him by the university.

About 12,178 candidates were conferred degrees on the occasion.

More than 500 police personnel were deployed on the university premises to ensure the smooth conduct of the function. Thirty student leaders were taken into preventive custody.

UNI

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