CHENNAI: The 33rd convocation ceremony of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli was hit by a dual controversy on Tuesday (July 28) after Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan, MLA Murugan and MLA Rajendra boycotted the event over the order in which the Tamil Thai Vazhthu was scheduled to be rendered, even as it was announced that only 113 gold medallists out of 871 candidates would receive their degrees directly from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
The university had earlier announced that Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the chief guest, would personally confer degrees on 871 candidates during the convocation where a total of 37,877 students were scheduled to receive their degree certificates.
However, it was later announced that only 113 gold medallists would receive degrees directly from the Governor, which led to protests by the students, according to a Daily Thanthi report.
According to the schedule of the convocation ceremony, which began around 45 minutes late, the Vande Mataram (national song) was played first, while the State anthem, the Tamil Thai Vazhthu, was rendered third.
Condemning the university administration's decision to place Tamil Thai Vazhthu in third, Higher Education Minister Viswanathan boycotted the ceremony. Along with him, Tirunelveli TVK MLA Murugan and Kadayanallur MLA Rajendran also announced that they would boycott the convocation in protest against the songs' sequence.
Earlier this month, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had clarified that whenever a State Song is played along with the National Song and National Anthem, the sequence must be State Song first, followed by the National Song (Vande Mataram) and National Anthem (Jana Gana Mana), in that order. In a July 9 directive, the MHA instructed states and the UTs to strictly adhere to this sequence.