New Delhi: The chairman of the governing body of Dyal Singh Evening College on Thursday said the management's proposal to change the institute's name to Vandemataram Dyal Singh College had its roots in a meeting human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar chaired last year.

"Last November, there was a meeting chaired by Javadekar after the issue of name change came up in Parliament," chairman Amitabh Sinha told The Telegraph.

He said the then higher education secretary, the then chairman of the University Grants Commission, the vice-chancellor of Delhi University and other officials also attended the meeting.

"In that meeting it evolved that an amicable path has to be worked out on the issue. Last week the governing body decided to rename it (the institution) Vandemataram Dyal Singh College."

Sinha's comments came a day after Javadekar said publicly that action would be taken against the college management for the name change.

Sinha said the minister had no locus standi on the college governing body issue.

Social reformer Dyal Singh Majithia had donated his savings to the cause of education. The Dyal Singh Majithia trust later set up two colleges - both named Dyal Singh College - one in Delhi and the other in Lahore.

The Delhi college was taken over by the government in 1978. The institution in the capital now runs a day college and an evening college.

But a controversy erupted last November when the governing body first proposed to change the name from Dyal Singh Evening College to Vandemataram College because the institution had to become a day college.

The decision was taken to avoid duplicity in the name since the Dyal Singh College already operated from the campus as a day college.

Akali Dal MPs had then criticised the government in Parliament, saying the move had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs. Dyal Singh was a Sikh. Javadekar had held an emergency meeting at that time.

Sinha has issued a press release saying Akali leader Naresh Gujral "misled" Parliament by saying that the college was a minority institution when it was not. He also said Dyal Singh became a Brahmo later in life.

"It was not Dyal Singh who had established the college in Delhi. He couldn't logically have as he had breathed his last in the late 19th century whereas the college named after him was established in the 1950s by a trust that bore his name," he said through the release.

"It is time all nationalist forces of the country steadfastly raise their voice on the issue against the mischievous, communal elements and in support of the patriotic governing body of the Dyal Singh College and Vandemataram Dyal Singh College," he said in the release.

He also said "Javadekar exceeded his brief to then immediately declare in Parliament that DU had to put its decision of naming Dyal Singh Evening College under its jurisdiction on hold".

The evening college has now started functioning during day without the name being changed.

Since the college comes under Delhi University, the appropriate body to take a decision on a new name is the varsity's executive council. The university has clarified that no decision has been taken on changing the institute's name.

According to the rules, the HRD ministry has no authority to interfere in naming and renaming of DU colleges. As for appointing the chairpersons and governing body members of colleges maintained by the university, it is the DU vice-chancellor who does so.

Sinha had earlier said the evening section of Deshbandhu College was named Ramanujan College and that Ram Lal College was also named Aryabhatta College when they were made day colleges.