Narendra Modi to visit Shri Ram College of Commerce today

A day before Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's visit, Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce was abuzz with excitement on Tuesday, with some sections supporting and others opposing the event.

Modi has been invited by the SRCC students' union to deliver the Shri Ram Memorial Oration as part of their annual undergraduate management festival, Business Conclave 2013. As the guest of honour, Modi will speak on "emerging business models in the global scenario" on Wednesday.

"SRCC is one of the leading colleges in the country where we do not restrict ourselves to academic text. To help us understand the realities outside the university, we are holding this conclave. Looking at the growth story of Gujarat in the past decade, we know that some of the best business models have been adopted there," Sudarshan Tapuriah, a third-year student of Economics and the vice-president of SRCC's Students' Union, said.

Although the event will only have former and current SRCC students and teachers as part of the audience, various students' organisations are planning to hold demonstrations outside the college.

Talking about the decision to protest outside SRCC, Anshul Pandey, a student of Zakir Husain Delhi College, said, "The move to invite Modi legitimises the Gujarat riots. The excuse of development cannot be used to erase the past."

The Federation of Central University Teachers' Association also criticised SRCC for inviting Modi to speak at the college. S D Siddiqui, Secretary of Delhi University Teachers' Association, said, "Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) is an academic institution and not a political syndicate or a business house. Why should the college invite a controversial politician? We strongly condemn this move by the SRCC students' union."

Students of SRCC, on the other hand, do not want Modi's visit to be seen as a political event. "This talk is purely business-oriented, it is not a political event. Media reports have mentioned that Arun Jaitley had a role in getting Modi here. This is totally untrue. No politician had any role to play in this event," Tapuriah said.

According to SRCC principal P C Jain, the college has been hosting this annual event for a few years and no changes were made in the schedule due to Modi's visit.

On the issue of protests in the university, Jain said, "In this country, everyone should have the right to express their opinion. If people want to protest, we are no one to judge who is right and who is wrong."

SRCC students' union vice-president echoed the principal's thoughts. "People might have different views about a person. Everyone has a right to express one's views. Students of our college also want to listen to what Modi has to say about Gujarat's growth."

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