SFI alleges ‘saffronisation’ of higher education, protests at MG University

Key points

• The row over the appointment of the interim Vice-Chancellor at the Mahatma Gandhi University and nominations of members to its senate by the Governor continues to boil over with the Left wing students organisation, Students Federation of India (SFI), taking out a protest march to the varsity on Monday.
• The march was organised alleging that the Governor Rajendra Arlekar was trying to ‘saffronise’ the higher education sector by filling the academic councils with BJP leaders.
• The march created some tension at the university entrance, when the police blocked the protesters with barricades at the main gate.
• When the protesters pulled down the barricade, police resorted to using water cannons to disperse the crowd, resulting in minor altercations between the police and SFI leaders.
• Later, the protesters staged a sit-in protest in front of the varsity gate.