Presidency University vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia on Tuesday spoke out about her perceived proximity to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and said whatever she had done was for the sake of the institution. Excerpts of her statements made from her chair in the VC's chamber.

On her visit to London

I went to invite the chief minister for the convocation because the President was scheduled to come. It is part of the protocol to invite the chief minister to an event the President will attend....

She asked me about the activities of the university.... I told her we were going to sign three MoUs with different universities in the UK. She promptly said: "Would you mind doing it in London where I am going after a month?" If accepting that invitation means I am close to her, so be it. But closeness in my opinion means something else. I do not share any party's ideology.

On her presence at the administrative meeting in Burdwan

I was not the only VC who attended the meeting. There were four others. How come no one else is targeted?

On bowing before Mamata at the Presidency convocation

One picture, in which I had bent quite a lot, is repeatedly being printed by The Telegraph. Let me tell you the culture I come from. I am a Marwari. We do not touch anyone's feet directly. But if we see any older person or anyone of status, even when they come to our house, we bend down in that way. Tomorrow, if you come to my house, my daughter and someone younger than you or someone who has not achieved as much as you have will bend down in a similar fashion. Why the chief minister? I bend down like that to the chancellor. I bend down like that to whoever is my senior. You ask my PhD supervisor....

On being viewed as someone close to the chief minister and her party

I am an apolitical person. I have been viewed as close to the chief minister because of a series of events. And if these people have viewed me as such, I accept the criticism with a bowed head. I have come here to give. I gain nothing from this chair.

But what have I done being close to the chief minister that has politicised anything here? I have only worked for this university and if the chief minister has felt benevolent enough to give us resources and funds, should we not celebrate it?

On whether it is benevolence or part of the government's duty

I think it's the government's duty. But it's a government that is very tight with funds. We all know the situation is not one where a lot can be done or given at this time. But the chief minister remembered her commitment to my predecessor. 

She (Mamata) was not benevolent to Anuradha Lohia. She was benevolent to Presidency University and she must have had a hard time finding these funds out of some place where it is difficult to remove funds from some other projects, may be from some other universities. I am sure other universities must be annoyed that Presidency is getting these funds. But she had made this commitment in 2012 to my predecessor. I am only the recipient..... We are completely instrumental in making Presidency go forward and I am incidental here as the vice-chancellor right now.

On Sankha Ghosh not being awarded the DLitt at the convocation

According to the governing board resolution, we could award the DLitt to two persons. The first name was Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the second was poet Sankha Ghosh. When we got confirmation that the President would come and we were given a time-bound programme from his office, we realised that if Sheikh Hasina, too, came, it would be difficult to wrap up the convocation in (the stipulated) one hour and 12 minutes. We realised it would be difficult to award the DLitt to two persons.

We decided if Sheikh Hasina did not come, we would award the DLitt to Sankha Ghosh. So we waited for Sheikh Hasina's confirmation. But her office had no communication with India's external affairs ministry even a week before the convocation. If I had approached Ghosh at that point, it would have been insulting to him.... So we discussed among ourselves and decided to confer the DLitt on him at a separate function.

On students painting the defaced walls

I really appreciate their gesture. I am so proud of these students. I have been saying from the very beginning that they are so young, they don't know what they are doing and it's our job to teach them....