New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as the chief guest on December 22.
The PM will attend the program virtually with Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the university said in a statement.
The statement added that the AMU Vice Chancellor, Professor Tariq Mansoor, has “appealed to all concerned to keep the Centenary Program above politics”, NDTV reported.
AMU has had a thorny relation with the BJP, whose leaders have repeatedly criticised the university students and even suggested that the name of the institution be changed.
Interestingly, the last time a sitting PM had attended an event at the university was way back in 1964, when Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered the convocation address.
“A centenary is a landmark in the history of any university… The entire AMU community and I are grateful to the PM for accepting our invitation,” the AMU VC was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
“The PM’s presence at this historic event will be immensely helpful to the growth and development of the university and placement of our students,” he added.
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