Bolpur: Union Defence Minister on Friday said he was extremely happy to address the annual convocation ceremony of the Visva Bharati University and that he had come to Santiniketan as a teacher and not politician. Singh, who is the chief guest at the convocation, is currently on a two-day visit to Birbhum.
Beginning his address in Bengali, Singh said he was extremely happy to join the convocation ceremony. Singh's statement was greeted by a loud applause from the audience. He next, addressed the students as "dear children" and said, "I have got opportunities to address many universities across the country."
"Today I've come before you. I can't express how happy I was when I stepped on the campus of Visva Bharati University yesterday". Offering his prayers to the soil of Bengal, Singh said he was seeking blessings from Nobel laureate Rabindra Tagore on the occasion. He also offered his respect to Visva Bharati, which is one of the world's most reputed institution.
"Whenever I visit any educational institute I don't go there as a political leader. Instead, I am present there as a teacher. While coming to Visva Bharati I was only thinking as to what I could offer to the meritorious students here that would be of some use to them," Singh said.
Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar, Visva Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. It may be mentioned here that the university's convocation was deferred by two months following protests launched by students over various issues.
VC Chakraborty had also said that it was not suitable to hold the ceremony citing the 'situation' in the campus. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the chancellor of Visva Bharati, had addressed the convocation ceremony on February 19, 2021 on virtual mode.
