Students at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala, Punjab, have announced that they would continue their protests after another failed attempt at negotiation with the administration. 

In a statement released today, September 26, the students express “deep concern” over actions from some of the members of the administration, that have “significantly undermined the trust of the students” in them. 

They narrate that despite being invited to the meeting table today, the batch representatives were subjected to “inappropriate conduct”, including coercion and being shouted at — in full view of the student community. 

Moreover, the students add that the administration remained “unwilling to take any concrete commitments” to their demands and the officiating Registrar, who did not possess any decision-making authority, was made to be a part of the meeting. 

Terming this a “malafide attempt to divide and weaken the ongoing protest”, the students reveal that these attempts were unsuccessful, as they walked out of the meeting “at the peak of disrespect shown to them and their representatives.”

Moreover, students allege that while the meeting was going on, the RGNUL’s official social media handles allegedly published posts “insinuating that the allegations against the VC were false.” 

In these posts, the accusations of the students were attempted to be discredited through “spam comments from individuals not affiliated with RGNUL” — highlighting a “blatant misuse of institutional resources to defend certain individuals”, which is an “abuse of power”.