Mumbai: The principal of a prestigious college in South Mumbai has stirred a hornet’s nest by sending an email to his students asking them to “choose well” when voting and simultaneously questioning Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model of development.

The letter is also posted on the college website.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has complained to the Election Commission against Dr Frazer Mascarenhas, Principal of St Xavier’s College, saying he has misused his position and violated the election code of conduct.

The principal, however, has defended his note saying his letter was not against any specific individual or party but “intended to serve as a broad understanding before students their right to vote.”

However, his target in the letter is obvious and fingers are being pointed at the head of this apolitical college for sending an email that may be seen as indirectly showing support for the Congress party.

Mumbai goes to the polls on April 24 and there is a huge chunk of young first time voters, including students, this time and an email of this kind is not helping students to make their own decision, said an educationist.

But a spokesperson of an organisation called Save Our Land said, “Why does it hurt some political parties when his communication does not name any one party. What he has stated are facts which are all in the public domain.”

Dolphy D’Souza said, “Don’t vilify him but refute the points raised in his letter.”

He said the principal was a rare role model for active citizenship and that there are very few academicians and institutions that are bold and take a stand.

In the article headlined In the Background of Elections — The Development Debate, Dr Mascarenhas says that the elections have brought an interesting discussion to the public forum on what constitutes human development and how it is to be achieved.

He wrote: “The Gujarat model has been highlighted for our consideration. That is very apt because it puts in stark contrast two current views. Is the growth of big business, the making of huge profits, the achievement of high production — what we seek? Or is the quality of life for the majority in terms of affordable basic goods and services and the freedom to take forward the cultural aspirations of our plural social groups that make up India?

“Gujarat may be doing well in the first sense, although not as good as some other states in the country. But all Human Development Index indicators and the cultural polarisation of the population show that Gujarat has had a terrible experience in the last 10 years.” He cites the example of education where schools for the ordinary people show abject neglect with a very high dropout rate in the last 10 years.

“To take just an example, St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, thrice NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) accredited with an equivalent of the A grade, has not been able to gain permission from the Gujarat Government for Academic Autonomy, for the last 10 years and has finally won a battle in the High Court to approach the UGC (University Grants Commission) for this status.”

The principal also says the state was the worst performer in settling claims and distributing title deeds to the tribal people and other forest dwellers, as shown by the latest data put out by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry.

“Till 2013, the State, with 15 per cent population, settled only 32 per cent of the claims, the lowest rate in the country.

“As opposed to this,” he says without naming the Congress party which has promoted mass schemes, “efforts like the Rojgar Yojana (employment scheme) and the Food Security Act have been called ‘election sops.’ However, some of our best social scientists like Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze have supported these as necessary in the emergency economic situation the country and world is facing.”

While he indirectly praised the Congress’s programme, he also assailed it for the “worsening situation of environmental degradation and depletion, in the lunge for growth and profit.”

In fact, he said, it shows up the real intentions of the greedy. “None can withstand this, as seen by the many clearances given in a week’s time after the recent change of guard at the Central Environmental Ministry, which had earlier tried to hold the line under a different Minister.”

Former Union Minister of Environment, Jayanthi Natarajan, resigned in December last year and later Union Petroleum Minister Veeraappa Moily was given the additional charge of this ministry, when several clearances were given.