Mockery is not a substitute: VCs write to Priyanka Gandhi over V Kamakoti remarks

A collective of 215 concerned citizens, scholars, and intellectuals, including Vice Chancellors of leading universities as well as directors of the Indian Institutes of Management and Technology (IIMs and IITs), issued an open letter to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday, condemning her political mockery directed at IIT Madras director V. Kamakoti.

The letter criticised her jibe in the Lok Sabha on July 28, reportedly referring to Prof. Kamakoti as a “gaumutra expert”, during a discussion on The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.

Signatories to the letter argued that such characterisations bypass substantive debate in favour of dismissive political caricatures, threatening the foundational principles of scientific temper enshrined in the Indian Constitution.