Students don black band in NUJS demanding VC's ouster
Students don black band in NUJS demanding VC's ouster
Kolkata, Students of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences , Kolkata, sported black bands on their arms during classes as a mark of protest to demand the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Prof Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti.
The move followed after students held protests for over 20 hours since Saturday to press for the same demand that Chakrabarti must resign and a search committee be formed to appoint a new VC by October 31.
The students threatened to intensify the stir if the demands are not met by the end of October.
"After holding protests from Saturday till Sunday morning before the VC demanding his ouster, we have been attending classes from Monday but sporting black bands on our arms.
"Some of us are standing for the entire duration in the classroom when lectures continue without disrupting the teaching," a member of the Student Juridical Association said on Tuesday.
During the protests on Saturday and early Sunday, when Chakrabarti was gheraoed, the students held a placard which read "The VC's character is stained, remove him".
The students, under the aegis of 'Student Juridical Association' , began protests on Saturday after the WBNUJS's General Council could not respond favourably to their demand for the VC's ouster.
Chakrabarti, who had been accused of sexual harassment in past, however, denied the charges, asserting the students were misguided.
In their demands, the students claimed the institution's reputation was lowered due to his continuation in the chair, perception of unsafe environment among female students and said doubts persisted among the faculty about Chakrabarti's role.
Chakrabarti claimed in an interaction with reporters on Sunday before leaving the campus after a gherao was lifted that the Supreme Court in a recent judgment had dismissed a Prevention of Sexual Harassment complaint made by a faculty member against him.
"We have withdrawn further physical protest now, but our protests in other forms will continue till the authorities address our concerns centred on the resignation of the Vice Chancellor," a spokesperson of the protesting students said.
He also claimed financial mismanagement and lack of transparency on the part of the administration.
"From what we are aware of, WBNUJS is operating with a financial deficit of ₹7 crore for the first time in the operation of the university. This is a perplexing situation, especially when significant funds are being allocated to research projects while students lack basic amenities and are awaiting reimbursements for competition-related expenses from the last four years.
"These research grants add up to a total of approximately ₹2.6 crore from various universities. However, the student body remains clueless as to the outcomes, as well as involvement of any students in such exercises," the students' association said in a letter.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
