Protests and processions by students of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur (UAS-R), against Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda for his alleged “insulting” and “arrogant” remarks against them, continued for the fourth day on Saturday.
Wearing black armbands, holding placards and banners and raising slogans against Mr. Gowda, thousands of students took out a rally through the university campus boycotting classes. They not only demanded a public apology from the Minister, but also demanded his resignation.
The students warned that they would intensify their agitation if the State government failed to meet their demands. “It is a coordinated and collective struggle by students studying in all the agricultural universities in the State. A few political leaders have assured that they would arrange for a meeting of students’ leaders with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. If nothing positive emerges out of the meeting, we would intensify our agitation,” Sundaresh, a students’ leader, said. If the agitation, which is peaceful so far, turns violent, the government and the Agricultural Minister would have to be held responsible, he warned. “If the meeting is not arranged with the Chief Minister or steps are not taken to fulfil our demands, we will disrupt the functioning of the university from Monday,” he added. Their demands include withdrawal of the government decision to allow private players to open agricultural universities, filling vacancies in the Agriculture Department, among others.
Meanwhile, the sixth convocation of the university that was scheduled to be held on Saturday was postponed at the eleventh hour on Friday evening.
Though the university authorities clarified that the decision to defer the convocation was necessitated due to the unavailability of the chief guest at the last moment, the ongoing agitation against the Agriculture Minister is viewed as the main reason for the cancellation of the convocation.
Speaking to The Hindu , Vice-Chancellor of UAS-R, Dr. P.M. Salimath said that chief guest Dr. S.L. Mehta of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur, cancelled his trip at the last moment.
“We can hold a convocation without the presence of Chancellor (Governor) and Pro-Chancellor (Agriculture Minister) with their permission. But we must have a chief guest. Mr. Metha changed his schedule at the last moment and we had to postpone the convocation. This decision has nothing to do with the ongoing agitations as the students themselves promised to cooperate with us. We will conduct the convocation at the earliest,” Mr. Salimath said.
The decision to cancel the convocation caused inconvenience to students and parents who had come to Raichur from different parts of the State and even from other States to take part in the event. They were informed about the cancellation only after they reached Raichur on Friday evening.
“I completed my under graduation from UAS-R and now pursuing M.Sc. in Allahabad. I was informed of the cancellation of the convocation only after I reached Raichur,” Basavaraj, a former UAS-R student, told The Hindu.
