Banaras Hindu University Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi on Thursday said that he would resign if asked to go on leave following the recent violence on campus, PTI reported. Tripathi, however, added that there was no orders from the Centre asking him to go on leave.
“So far, nothing of this sort has been communicated to me,” Tripathi said. “I have been in touch with Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, and have briefed him about the situation as well as the measures taken. But if am I asked to go on leave, I will resign.”
Tripathi’s comments come at a time when the HRD Ministry has initiated a process to shortlist his successor, according to PTI. The vice chancellor’s tenure ends on November 30. “Having done so much [for the university], it will be insulting to go on leave two months before my tenure comes to end. I will prefer quitting,” Tripathi said.
In a preliminary report, Varanasi divisional commissioner had blamed the administration of Banaras Hindu University for the campus violence. Nitin Gokarn said that the university administration had ignored the complaint filed by a girl who was allegedly molested on campus.
Vice Chancellor Tripathi, however, had dismissed the alleged sexual harassment as “a simple case of eve-teasing”. He had denied that the police had baton-charged students who were protesting against the incident, and said the police action was directed at those involved in arson, stone-pelting and throwing petrol bombs.
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