Hours after agreeing to call off stir, students do U-turn
Rohtak, June 26 -- Hours after students of Hisar agricultural university agreed to lift their dharna (on since June10) following an assurance from a four-member state government panel on their demands, the protesters on Wednesday evening did a U-turn saying the agitation would continue.
The students of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University have now demanded a written assurance from the panel. "We haven't received anything in writing. The administration is pressuring us to withdraw the protest. Until we get written confirmation, the agitation will go on," said a student representative.
State education minister Mahipal Dhanda, who headed the government panel, had reportedly agreed to accept seven of the students' eight major demands.
The minister also assured students over a phone call that vice-chancellor BR Kamboj would be sent on six-month leave while a three-member judicial committee will investigate his role in the June 10 police lathicharge on students -an incident that triggered the protest.
Students said the panel also agreed that chief security officer Sukhbir Singh would no longer be posted at the university's main campus and no legal or disciplinary action would be taken against any of the protesting students. All ongoing university examinations, seminars, thesis submissions, and postgraduate entrance exams would be rescheduled, with a minimum three-week gap. The government also accepted the students' demand for direct election of two student representatives to the academic council.
Furthermore, the state agreed to implement a uniform fee structure for both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and non-JRF students. The students were also assured that registrar Pawan Kumar and dean of students' welfare Madan Khichar would be barred from holding any administrative posts until their retirement.
In addition to these, the students said the government agreed to their demands concerning the revision of student stipends, the rollback of seat reservations for land donation villages (LDV), and the withdrawal of the 93rd amendment to the university calendar Volume II.
Although the students announced the withdrawal of their earlier ultimatum to close all four gates of the university on June 27, they maintained that the protest would not end without official documentation of the government's commitments.
A government spokesperson, meanwhile, claimed that politically affiliated individuals and outsiders were influencing the students and preventing the resolution of the standoff. "The government agreed to fulfill the demands in accordance with rules and procedures. But the student delegation keeps changing and some outsiders are clearly involved in sustaining the protest," the spokesperson said.
In a related administrative move following the negotiations, the university issued an order relieving Madan Khichar from the post of director, students' welfare. SK Pahuja, dean of the College of Agriculture, has been given the charge of the post, subject to confirmation by the university's board of management.
Earlier, the government panel, which also included social justice and empowerment minister Krishan Bedi and Nalwa MLA Randhir Panihar, had held five rounds of discussions with the students over the weekend. However, the talks had remained inconclusive, primarily due to the students' insistence on the removal of the vice-chancellor....
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