Central team to hold parleys with FTII students today

Hoping to break the deadlock in FTII, a three-member team of central officials are expected to hold talks on Friday with students, demanding the removal of TV actor and BJP member <g data-gr-id="23">Ganjendra</g> Chauhan as its chairman.

The team was deputed by the I&B Ministry, after the unrest on the campus escalated, following the arrest of five students in wee hours on Wednesday.

According to a top FTII official, the team led by the Registrar of Newspapers in India SM Khan will assess the ground situation on the campus before interacting with “all parties concerned” in their bid to end the <g data-gr-id="22">empasse</g>.

The students, on strike for the last 71 days, said they are open to dialogue but ruled out <g data-gr-id="25">compromise</g> on their core demand and sought PM Narendra Modi’s intervention in resolving the prolonged crisis. 

“The Prime Minister should visit FTII to resolve the issues. All students in the country are feeling threatened by the government’s insensitivity towards the problems being faced by them. The students should strike hard and strong if this continues,” said <g data-gr-id="24">representative</g> of FTII Students’ Association (FSA) Vikas Urs.

Five students, including Urs, were arrested on charges of rioting after FTII director Prashant Pathrabe was confined to his chamber. They were later released on bail.