HAU students reject minister’s offer, continue protest for fourth day

A delegation of students from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) met Haryana minister Ranbir Gangwa today regarding their ongoing protest.

According to sources, Gangwa assured the students that their demands related to the restoration of scholarships would be fulfilled. He also promised action, including the suspension of those involved in the recent assault on students on the university campus.

The students discussed the offer with the protesting colleagues at the dharna site. But the offer of the minister was rejected, announced students at the dharna site.

The students, who are on a dharna for the fourth consecutive day, reiterated their core demands — the termination and arrest of those responsible for the lathicharge and assault on students including Prof Radheshyam, Chief Security Officer Sukhbir Singh and Dean Students Welfare ML Khichar besides stepping down of VC Prof BR Kamboj and Registrar Pawan Kumar. They stated that no further talks would take place unless these primary demands are addressed.

Meanwhile, discussions are being held at various levels between student representatives and university authorities, but no resolution has yet been reached.

The protest continued today, with hundreds of students taking part. Earlier, students had demanded the arrest of the accused from the Superintendent of Police (SP), who stated that the investigation would take two weeks and action would be taken against those found guilty.

Meanwhile, the three-member committee of the HAU and a delegation of students is holding a meeting to end the deadlock between the university authorities and the protesting students today. Sources said that the talks remained inconclusive till the filing of this report.

The committee has been formed for effective communication with all parties concerned. The decision, approved by the competent authority, was formalised through an official order dated June 13. The committee comprises Dr Rajbir Garg, Director of Research, who will serve as the Chairman; Dr KD Sharma, Dean of Postgraduate Studies; and Dr SK Pahuja, Dean of the College of Agriculture.

The university has clearly stated that apart from the members of this committee, no other officer, faculty member or official is authorised to interact with the students or the district administration on behalf of the university administration. Any individual found provoking students or disrupting the peaceful atmosphere of the university will face disciplinary action as per statutory provisions and prevailing university rules and regulations.

Meanwhile, the principal of the agriculture college at Bawal reportedly directed the students against staging protest on the Bawal campus.

Jannayak Janta Party leader Digvijay Chautala visited the protest site today to express solidarity with the students. Addressing the students, he emphasised that he was not there for political reasons and urged that the protest should remain apolitical. He stated that the power to remove the Vice-Chancellor lies with the Governor and that a meeting with the Governor would be sought soon to press for the VC’s dismissal. Chautala criticised the VC, calling him “arrogant and unfit”.

The protest began after a violent incident late on June 10, when university security guards allegedly lathi-charged students outside the VC’s residence.