Former minister and Stephanian Mani Shankar Aiyar, who last Friday ran down Hans Raj College in a spat with its alumnus, sports minister Ajay Maken, antagonized students and alumni of Kirori Mal College on Monday by declaring that actor Amitabh Bachchan was the "sole achievement" of KMC.
Aiyar's unprovoked remarks about KMC were delivered at a function in his alma mater, St Stephen's College, where a group of angry Hans Raj students were waiting to accost him. The MP, who had come to speak about 'Governance and Corruption: Is Panchayati Raj A Solution?', was unrepentant and mocked the Hansraj students further, saying Maken's only handicap in life was the college he went to.
"I know him (Maken). I do not think he has written that letter. He is a decent boy from a decent background with his only handicap being the college he went to," Aiyar told the set of Hans Raj students who had walked into St Stephen's College Auditorium to demand an explanation. Aiyar asked them to bring together BA-Pass students from Hans Raj and St Stephen's and make them pronounce 'dichotomous'. "I do not believe the student from Hans Raj will be able to do it," he said.
He said students should laugh off such 'jokes of academic life', adding, "If anyone discriminates against a student of Hans Raj College because of my remarks, please make it clear to him or her that I referred to Maken as being a BA-Pass. He is not a BA (Hons) student. Moreover, if any placements are affected because of my remarks, tell me and I shall personally ensure the student gets through," he said.
Around 20 students from Hans Raj College had walked in silent protest to St Stephen's in the afternoon to hand over a letter seeking an apology from Aiyar. The letter was signed by 800 students. "We want to ask him why students of one of the best colleges are at the receiving end of such a condescending remark. His remarks are directed at BA Pass students from our college, we want him to see our capabilities," said an angry Gaurav Gupta, second year student at Hans Raj.
On Friday, in a TV interview Aiyar had said that he could not believe that a BA-Pass student from Hans Raj College could use words like 'dichotomous' in a letter. The letter referred to was written by sports minister Ajay Maken, who is an alumnus of the college.
When TOI asked Aiyar about his comments, he said, "I said what I had to say. I told them some things which they did not know. They can go back and discuss it with their friends". To a student's question about why St Stephen's students could not vote in Delhi University Students Union elections, Aiyar said, "The way DUSU elections are fought they are quite contradictory to the values taught in this college."
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