BJYM gives 4-day ultimatum after VC declines meeting students’ delegation

Nagpur: Tensions between Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Nagpur University escalated further on Friday after student activists alleged that vice-chancellor Manali Kshirsagar refused to meet their delegation seeking action on examination-related grievances, prompting BJP's youth wing to issue a fresh four-day ultimatum to the administration.The protest comes days after BJYM activists vandalised the premises of the university on Tuesday, accusing it of administrative lapses, including errors in hall tickets, examination-related technical problems and inadequate facilities at centres. It claimed that despite giving the administration two days to respond, no concrete action was taken.On Friday, BJYM activists submitted what they described as a ‘reminder memorandum' to the pro-vice-chancellor, Akhilesh Peshwe, and VC's personal assistant after allegedly being denied a meeting with Kshirsagar. The agitation was led by BJYM Nagpur city president Sachin Karare.In a media statement, Karare alleged that students were facing ‘mental and financial hardship' because of recurring examination errors and administrative inefficiency. "The administration is playing with the future of students. It is unfortunate that the VC does not have time to listen to students' issues," he alleged.The BJYM warned that if the university failed to address the 20 demands within four days, it would intensify the agitation further. It also stated that any law-and-order situation arising thereafter would be the responsibility of the university administration.Responding to the allegations, Kshirsagar defended the administration's handling of student delegations and cited security concerns following recent protests at the campus."We are often not informed whether five, 50 or 100 people are coming," she said. "Sometimes they claim that an appointment has been given at a particular time even when no such time has been fixed."The VC said it was not practical for the university to maintain heavy security arrangements to prevent attacks. "If we deploy 100 security guards every day, anticipating large crowds, it would mean unnecessary expenditure of NU funds," she said.Referring to the recent vandalism incident, where the FIR was lodged against ‘unidentified accused', she said action was already initiated through police intervention. "Once an FIR is registered, people understand there are legal provisions and restrictions in place. In a democracy, people will continue to come forward with issues, and you cannot completely stop them," she added.