Govt rigid on students' council decision: Partha

As the students of Jadavpur University continued their agitation for the second day with the university authorities refusing to reject the state government's order to turn the varsity students' unions apolitical, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee clearly maintained the rigid stand of the government. The university authorities also was in mood to accept the students' demand.

"Let them agitate. The gherao is unjustified. We will not tolerate this," the Education minister said. Vice-Chancellor of JU Suranjan Das said: "The rules has been framed by a democratically elected government. We can apprise the government about the students' demand but we cannot oppose it."

He appealed to the students to end their agitation. "The state government has issued the order and as we are a state varsity we have to abide by the same. The students must understand that we have to accept the order. There can be various opinions regarding the order but there are democratic ways to convey it," Das said adding that he will leave it up to the common people to decide whether the students' method of agitation inside the campus is justified or not.

With students organising sit in demonstration right at the entrance of the administrative building Aurobindo Bhavan and shouting slogans against the university authorities, Das along with some other officials could not leave the university on Thursday. An agitating student said: "We have not gheraoed the officials. They are free to go. But they will have to go through us."

The students who were continuing their agitation till reports last came in maintained that JU's model of peacefully union elections should be followed by the government, instead of imposing the reforms on them.

"Students' unions should consist of elected representatives. We will not agree to a students' council with nominated members," said Jubi Saha.

The state government had issued an order in June directing authorities to make students' unions apolitical and empower a teacher at respective universities to handle union funds.

The government had proposed that instead of students' unions, state colleges and universities will have

student councils, modelled on the St Xavier's College's system. The Executive Committee (EC), the decision making body of the varsity, met to discuss the academic and administrative matters. A discussion on the structure of the proposed students' council was also held.

"We had placed our demand before the EC that it must recognise the order as undemocratic and unacceptable. Unless the authorities accept our demands, we will not lift our agitation," a student threatened.