Former Lucknow University vice-chancellor sits on stir with student leaders

LUCKNOW:

Former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University

Prof Roop Rekha Verma and litterateurs Naresh Saxena and Virendra Yadav came to the campus on Tuesday and sat on a

stir with student leaders

who are on a hunger strike.


As many as 25 student leaders have been denied admission to postgraduate courses by LU on grounds that they were involved in indiscipline.

Two of these are also those who showed black flags to the CM. There are also those student leaders who had held the vice-chancellor hostage while protesting against hostel fee hike last year. There are also some who face charges of violating law and order on campus.

LU said these student leaders had been expelled on charges of indiscipline and were later taken back after they gave an undertaking that they would not seek readmission to LU after completing their undergraduate courses.

Student leaders, however, argue that protest is their democratic right.

"Barring and banning protests and admission are not solutions. The university is a place where students are taught about democratic procedures. They have the freedom of speech and expression and the administration should hold talks with them," said Prof Verma.

Staging protests was not a crime but freedom of speech and expression, she added.

Calling it unfortunate that students were denied admission in a university, renowned writer Virendra Yadav said, "The existence of a university is because of students. The university should think about students before anything else."

Poet Naresh Saxena also objected to the decision saying holding a protest could not be a reason for cancellation of admission. "There is no political party or any field where protests are not staged. Students should not be treated as criminals," he said.

LU vice-chancellor SP Singh said he tried to hold talks with student leaders but they sat on protest without informing the university authorities.

"The student leaders are not here to study but to disrupt law and order. The university will upload names of student leaders with the reason why they were denied admission and their indiscipline record on the website," said the VC.