FTII students are detained after staging a demonstration against the appointment of actor Gajendra Chauhan in New Delhi yesterday.
IANS/New Delhi
Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday “denied to comment” on the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as chairperson of FTII, a delegation of students said after a meeting with the minister.
“The minister refused to comment on the appointment of Chauhan as the chairperson but instead assured that in future there won’t be issues that hamper the curriculum of the students,” Prateek, a student who was part of the delegation, revealed.
Earlier in the day, the group, who had come from Pune also met K Sanjay Murti, joint secretary of the film division, to discuss the issue. However, sources said there was no “conclusive outcome” due to which the group sought an appointment with Jaitley.
The delegation also said that Jaitley during the meeting assured of proper infrastructure and exposure for the students.
“We need to discuss the issue with other students first and only then will we take a call on whether we will return (to Pune) or not. However, the assurance by the minister has given us some relief,” Prateek said.
The delegation is demanding the removal of Chauhan from the chairmanship of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and also reconstitution of the entire governing council of the institute.
However, Chauhan urged the students to end their agitation and return to their classes.
“Whatever the government says, I will follow. I wasn’t aware of the meetings but I urge the students to call off the protests and start attending classes otherwise, it will be a loss for them,” Chauhan told reporters in Pune.
A total of 200 students protesting against Chauhan’s appointment were detained by the Delhi Police yesterday afternoon in the capital.
Besides students from FTII, others from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Delhi Technological University also joined the protest.
They held a demonstration outside the ministry of information and broadcasting at Shastri Bhavan here.
“FTII is being saffronised and people close to the BJP are being appointed as heads of cultural and art institutions,” a student said.
The students of the institute earlier went on an indefinite strike, claiming that Chauhan’s appointment was politically motivated.
Sources said that the ministry officials heard the students in detail during the meeting which began at 3pm.
After Chauhan was appointed as FTII chief, there were protests from students who said there should have been a person of higher stature to head the institution.
Similar sentiments were also expressed by some of the alumni of the institution.