Haryana Agricultural University standoff: Talks fail again as students adamant on VC's removal
Talks between a four-member Haryana government panel and students of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar, remained inconclusive on the second consecutive day on Sunday. The students have been protesting on the agri varsity campus since June 10 after a lathicharge by university officials and security personnel left at least 20 students injured. Students of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University during a protest rally in Hisar on Sunday. (HT)
The panel, comprising Haryana education minister Mahipal Dhanda, social justice and empowerment minister Krishan Bedi and Nalwa MLA Randhir Panihar and district administration officials, held day-long deliberations with the students' delegation at the mini-secretariat. However, the students alleged that the ministers were pressuring them to end the protest without providing strong assurances.
While the committee agreed to change the university's stipend structure and rollback seat reservations for Land Donation Villages (LDV), they refused to guarantee action against those involved in the June 10 lathicharge and the removal of vice-chancellor BR Kamboj.
'It seems the government panel wants to escalate the protest. The ministers told us they have no power to remove the vice-chancellor, which clearly shows they're shielding him. They also failed to assure us that action would be taken against those named in the FIR for assaulting students,' said a student after the seven-hour meeting.
Dhanda, however, expressed hope that the issue would be resolved during further discussions on Monday. 'These students are our children. Some of their demands have been agreed to and the remaining issues will also be discussed,' he said.
Meanwhile, students announced they would prepare for a mahapanchayat on June 24 to demand the V-C's removal and the arrest of the university's registrar and chief security officer.
The unrest began on June 10 when students gathered outside vice-chancellor BR Kamboj's residence to protest changes in the stipend structure and the rollback of seat reservations for LDV. The situation escalated when university officials and security personnel allegedly unleashed a lathicharge, leaving at least 20 students injured. Some of them sustained deep head wounds that required six to 30 stitches.
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