Excelsior Correspondent/PTI
NEW DELHI, Apr 13: A group of NIT, Srinagar students today met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed about the ongoing stir on the campus following clashes between local and outstation students.
During the 20-minute meeting, the students placed various demands, including shifting of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) campus from Srinagar.
The Home Minister is understood to have assured the aggrieved students of security on the campus and suggested them to concentrate on their studies, official sources said.
Meanwhile, the NIT students today staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here demanding shifting of their campus from Srinagar after clashes in the institute between local and outstation students.
The students, who held a protest in Jammu yesterday, gathered at Jantar Mantar this morning to raise their demands.
“We want the HRD Ministry to pay attention to our demand of shifting the campus out of Srinagar and accountability to be fixed for the police action on students,” a protesting student said.
Another student said, “We had raised our demands with the HRD officials who had visited the campus but they have been turned down. We also want withdrawal of all cases against non Kashmiri students of NIT and full security to them”.
Meanwhile, HRD Minister Smriti Irani also met a group of students from unrest-hit NIT, Srinagar, who put forward various demands including the shifting of the campus but she rejected the plea for shift.
Emerging from the over two-hour meeting which ended late this evening, students said that while the minister rejected their “primary” demand to shift the campus by saying that Kashmir is an integral part of India, she assured them of support in addressing academic issues.
Irani also assured the group of 9-10 students that if any of the faculty or staff members of the institute has induldged in any wrong-doing, action would be taken as per the due process.
“We spoke to the HRD Minister about the situation on the campus and she assured us to look into our demands. However, on the demand to shift the campus, she said Srinagar is an integral part of India, NIT won’t be shifted,” Ankit, a 3rd year NIT, Srinagar, student who was a part of the group that met the minister, said.
The delegation of NIT Srinagar students was also accompanied by some Delhi-based ABVP student leaders including JNU student union joint secretary Saurabh Sharma and DU student union president Satender Awana.
“About the issue of security on campus, the minister said that law and order is not under her purview but she will raise the matter with the Home Ministry. She also assured that a commitee will be set up to inquire into allegations against the administration and those found guilty will not be spared,” said Sharma after the meeting.
After hearing their concerns, Irani also promised that the placements from NITs Srinagar would be encouraged and that the process of appointing permanent faculty expedited, another student, who attended the meeting, said.
Another demand flagged with the minister was about external evaluation of the students’ marksheets, one of the students told reporters after the meeting.
Among other issues raised in the meeting were infrastructure of the institute, issue pertaining to the timings of girls’ hostels and lack of extra curricular activities on the campus, the students said.
The group of NIT students earlier today staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here demanding shifting of their campus from Srinagar after clashes in the institute between local and outstation students.
Meanwhile, students from NIT Srinagar held a meeting with Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh at his residence here today. The meeting lasted for over three hours.
In a frank heart-to-heart exchange of views, students expressed their grievances to which Dr Jitendra Singh responded positively. He also made it clear that he was firmly against use of force on students which should be the last resort in the rarest of rare circumstances. Students expressed satisfaction over their interaction with the Union Minister, who hails from J&K.
While explaining to the students that shifting of NIT out of Srinagar was not a healthy option, Dr Jitendra Singh convinced the students that instead, all of them should join together to ensure that NIT Srinagar, which is one of the oldest engineering institutions in the country, should be restored to its original pristine glory.
He said the prime importance is to ensure that the academic career of students should not be affected adversely by the recent turn of events and at the same time, they should feel physically and mentally secure so that they can concentrate on their studies.
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