The BJP-led Union government should take responsibility for the ban on a student study circle and drop HRD Minister Smriti Irani from the Union Cabinet, said VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan.
Leading a protest on Monday against the IIT-Madras for derecognising Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle, he termed the move “modern untouchability” and demanded a special committee to unravel the irregularities inside the IIT-M.
Over 60 cadres of the VCK led by Mr. Thirumavalavan gathered opposite the Kasturba Nagar MRTS railway station at 11.30 a.m. and staged a protest. They were soon arrested and removed from the location.
Members of various political parties, including the DMK and the BSP, also staged protests on Monday.
With police personnel posted at the IIT gates and teams on standby on Sardar Patel Road anticipating protests, members of the DMK’s youth wing were the first to gather opposite the Kasturba Nagar station, the designated spot for the agitation.
Around 10 a.m., over 200 DMK cadres led by student wing leader Ela. Pughazhedi attempted to march towards the IIT-M campus but were arrested at the Madhya Kailash junction itself.
However, members of the BSP staged stir past noon on Sardar Patel Road after its cadre attempted to barge in through the IIT gates. Marching from Kotturpuram, over 100 cadre raised slogans and tried to muscle their way pass the police party but were arrested and taken away following a 20-minute-long struggle by the police. Traffic was affected for over half an hour.
By evening, police teams led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Mylapore) K. Balakrishanan, had arrested over 480 protestors belonging to various political parties who staged agitation in batches. They were housed at a community hall nearby and released in the evening, police sources said.
Police security had been strengthened at the two gates of the institution and students, staff and institution authorities with valid ID cards alone were allowed into the campus.
