CHENNAI: In a fresh standoff with the Raj Bhavan, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday accused State Governor RN Ravi of ‘refusing’ to approve the award of D Litt to freedom fighter and veteran Marxist leader N Sankaraiah by Madurai Kamarajar University.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, State Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy said that Governor Ravi refused to sign when the file pertaining to the award of D Litt to N Sankaraiah, as per the resolution adopted in the syndicate and senate meeting of Madurai Kamarajar University was presented to the Governor cum chancellor by the university.

The senate of the university was authorized to award D Litt as per part I of chapter XX of Madurai Kamarajar University Act 1965, he said.

Minister Ponmudy accused the Governor of refusing to sign the file and said, “Under the circumstances, the honourable Governor-Chancellor is hereby ‘asked’ (read as requested) to award D Litt to N Sankaraiah during the convocation of Madurai Kamarajar University to be held on November 2, 2023, as per a resolution adopted in the syndicate and senate of the university.”

Recalling the contribution of centenarian Sankaraiah to the Indian freedom movement, mainly his incarceration for eight years during the British Raj and his lifelong service to the poor, the State Higher Education Minister said that a resolution was adopted in the August 18, 2023 meeting of the varsity syndicate and September 20, 2023 meeting of the varsity senate to award D Litt to Sankaraiah in acknowledgment of his outstanding service to the society.