St Stephen’s principal Valson Thampu who has been under constant attack by certain alumni of the college for allegedly bringing bad name to the institution, on Wednesday dared them to debate the “facts” with him on a “neutral forum”.
Thampu, also claimed that his tenure has been a “nightmare” and referred the alumni pointing fingers at him as “disgruntled elements” who pretend to have love for their alma mater.
“Both sides being heard on an equal footing is the essence of any debate. This bottom-line norm is sought to be perverted by a few disgruntled elements into a stone-pelting exercise, with words for stones. In my boyhood days I used to see street urchins throwing stones at mango trees laden with ripe mangoes,” he said in a Facebook post.
“In those days they did not, being simple folks, call this act of dishonest violence ‘love for my alma mater, the mango tree’. I challenge these misguided Knight Errants of the bash-St Stephen’s chivalry code to debate the facts with me on a neutral forum. Unlike them I am not an expert in stone throwing,” he added.
last week, prominent alumni including Arjun awardee Raja Randhir Singh, former Congress MP Sandip Dikshit, BJD MP Kalikesh, Congress leader Sharmishtha Mukherjee, had come out against Thampu’s move to push for amendment of the college’s 102-year-old constitution for empowering the principal and the Church of North India (CNI).
Former test cricketer and an alumnus Kirti Azad had described the present situation at his alma mater as “disgusting” and said the issue will be raised in Parliament by the MPs who are alumni of the college.