Protests at Raipur varsity enter third day

Protests at Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) entered the third consecutive day on Thursday, with students also drawing support from Chhattisgarh State Bar Association.

The students have been on indefinite protest since Monday, beginning a second wave of protests and signing a motion of no-confidence against Vice-Chancellor Sukh Pal Singh. The Student Bar Association (SBA) has also taken to social media, saying that Singh failed to initiate action against a professor who 51 women students accused of sexual harassment.

On August 28, students of HNLU, “sensing an opportunity” in the quashing of Singh’s extension of tenure as V-C by the Chhattisgarh High Court, protested for eight days, in the belief that “when the VC has left, things might get better”.

On Tuesday, Singh returned to the university, armed with a stay from the Supreme Court on the HC order. On Tuesday, 800 students held a general body meeting with Singh when he resumed office, and disappointed with his answers, asked him to step down. Since then the SBA has been protesting every day. On Thursday, the Chhattisgarh State Bar Association sent a letter of support, arguing that they had read of the mismanagement of the university for several years, and that they backed the students and found their demands valid.

The SBA had asked the Vice Chancellor to resign by 6 pm on September 28, threatening to escalate the protest after that date. An office bearer of the SBA told The Indian Express that the students intended to go on hunger strike, but would now wait till they get an appointment with the Chief Justice of the HC, the Chancellor of the University.
News Source (Indian Express)