Today, Wednesday, September 25, the student body of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), based in Patiala, Punjab has issued a statement updating the status of their ongoing protest against the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university.
The statement highlighted the repercussions of "non-conducive weather conditions" on the protesting students. The initial lines of the statement read, "The students have been protesting for 72+ hours in scorching heat and non-conducive weather conditions. So far three of them have faced severe physical consequences and have required immediate medical assistance. Senior administration members have denied help on the pretext of not having the power to help in this matter."
Furthermore, the statement mentioned a few critical points concerning access to washrooms and students have been denied access to closed roof areas despite the harsh weather conditions outside. Also, students’ parents have been called regarding the protest.
In addition to this, the statement further claimed that the student representative showed up to have a discussion with the university administration when called.
"The university administration claims that the students did not show up for talks, while the representative did in fact go to stress upon our demands that such deliberations ought to happen in the public and with the presence of the VC which has been the demand rather than come to an agreement with faculty members behind closed doors," read the lines of the statement.
Background
A huge protest was staged at RGNUL, on Sunday, September 22, when students accused Jai Shankar, the VC of the university of entering their rooms and questioning them regarding their attire during the inspection of the girls' hostel.
Around 100 students have called for a sit-in protest outside the VC's residence on the campus.
However, the VC has denied all allegations made by the students. He claimed that he visited girls' hostels owing to the overcrowding complaints. He also called these claims "baseless".
