ON Thursday, Murli Manohar Joshi took 25 minutes to cover the 100-m from Platform No 1 to the exit of the Allahabad station, as thousands roared ‘‘Doctor saab zindabad’’, thanking the Union HRD Minister for making Allahabad University a Central varsity. This was Joshi’s first visit to his constituency after last week’s Cabinet meeting cleared his proposal to give Allahabad University Central status. The usually sombre Joshi even played badminton with his post-graduate batchmates at the Amitabh Bachchan Hall where he was the chief guest at a ceremony late in the evening.Not all are happy with the new status though. Groups of students wearing black badges and shouting slogans against Joshi were seen at a few street intersections. They are enrolled with the university’s 11 affiliated colleges and according to the Joshi, it is too early for him to guarantee that their institutions too would automatically be a part of the Central University.Joshi’s aides called up the dissenting Allahabad University academics such as Professor R. Pandey, a Samajwadi Party member, but they refused to come over. Joshi had planned a packed schedule of political meetings for his 12-hour visit to the city and had left the university during the programme. He had enough time through the day to analyse the ground response of the Cabinet decision with professors. On his way back to Delhi, Joshi said: ‘‘I have never made promises I am not sure of keeping. I will see what can be done about these affiliated colleges. I cannot be coerced into taking a decision or making an announcement just now.’’More than the Central varsity status, Joshi’s aides plan to sell the new campus of the Indian Institute of Information Technology coming up within Allahabad city limits though it falls in the neighbouring constituency of Chail.
