Sensing the gravity of the situation the administration pressed into service two riots’ control vehicles, Vajra, a large number of policemen and a fire-tender.

However, the chief minister listened to the grievances and demands of the agitating students and virtually held a Chatra Janata Darbar on the College campus.

It was in the midst of his address that some students drew his attention towards dearth of teachers in the College.

Upon this the chief minister asked them to study hard and become teachers. He regretted that talented students now do not want to join teaching profession, rather they prefer to join multinational companies.

Like his usual Janata Darbar he once again passed on the responsibility to the HRD principal secretary, Anjani Kumar Singh, who was present on the occasion, to expedite appointment of teachers against vacant posts. He assured the students that the problem of shortage of teachers would be solved soon.

On the demand of repair of College hostels, some of which are on the verge of collapse, he asked the College principal and the HRD principal secretary to visit the hostels and make an assessment of the requirement. He said that all these hostels would be repaired soon.

The agitating students, mostly belonging to the All India Students Association, the students’ wing of CPI ML, raised the demand of students’ union election as promised by him.

Responding to this the chief minister replied that he was personally in favour of having duly elected students’ unions in colleges and universities. But elections to the unions must be held fairly and peacefully.

The Chatra Janata Darbar ended up as another public relations exercise with hardly anything concrete, except customary assurances, coming out of it. Even the agitating students were aware that nothing is going to change yet it was their political compulsion to protest.

Comment

comments...