The scholar said that she deliberately avoided the Governor.
- Jean Joseph accepted the degree from the university's Vice-Chancellor instead of the Governor
- She alleged Governor RN Ravi has acted against Tamil Nadu's interests
- Tensions exist between Governor Ravi and the ruling DMK government over legislative delays
A PhD scholar refused to receive her degree from Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi at the 32nd convocation of the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University on Wednesday, alleging that he has "acted against the interests of Tamil Nadu". Instead, she accepted it from the university's Vice-Chancellor.
The scholar, Jean Joseph, who earned her doctorate in Micro Finance, said that she deliberately avoided the Governor.
"RN Ravi is against Tamil Nadu and its people. He has not done anything for Tamil people. I didn't want to receive my degree from him," she said.
A video footage of the ceremony shows her bypassing the Governor - who was the chief guest - and posing with the Vice-Chancellor N Chandrasekhar with her degree.
In the clip, Governor Ravi initially appears to think it was a mistake and tries to reach out, but the student, through her gesture, indicates her choice was intentional. The Governor is then seen nodding in acknowledgement.
A senior professor at the university told NDTV, "We thought she is the Vice-Chancellor's candidate and wanted to receive it from him. Only later did we realise she did it on purpose."
Jean Joseph's husband, Rajan, is a functionary of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - which has been locked in a bitter tussle with Governor Ravi. The party has accused the Governor of deliberately delaying assent to Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, creating hurdles for the elected government, and attempting to run a "parallel administration".
The tensions between Raj Bhavan and the DMK-led government recently escalated after the Supreme Court - acting on a plea from the Tamil Nadu government - ruled that Governors and the President have no discretionary powers in such matters and must act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.
However, even after the ruling, Governor Ravi chose to refer the Bill to establish Kalaignar University - named after former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi - to the President, violating the one month timeline prescribed by the top court. The Bill also seeks to make the Chief Minister, instead of the Governor, the Chancellor of the new university.
In the past, Tamil Nadu's Higher Education Ministers have boycotted convocations presided over by Governor Ravi. This incident, however, was the first time a student or scholar publicly snubbed the Governor on stage.
