SURAT: Members of
Maldhari - cattle rearer - community gathered in a large group outside the
Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) campus on
Udhna Magdalla Road in city on Monday to protest against and alleged comment made by the vice chancellor Shivendra Gupta. The community members alleged that the VC told a VNSGU syndicate member Bhavesh Rabari, who is from Maldhari community, to 'sell milk instead of doing PhD'.
The community leaders poured milk on entry gate brought in milk containers to register protest.
The community members sat on dharna at the entry gate and shouted slogans against the VNSGU VC. They demanded that the VC should resign and apologise to the community for his comments which were widely covered in a section of media.
"The VC did not clarify when his comments insulting the community were published in some vernacular dailies. Only after we came to protest few days later the VC is claiming that he did not speak anything of that sort," said Shambhu alias Rakesh Maldhari, a representative of the community.
"Not only he failed to issue a clarification immediately, but he also organized a dinner for some people connected to this controversy at his official bungalow in VNSGU campus after the controversy started," added Maldhari.
After a strong representation by the community VC Gupta said that, "I did not make any statement insulting Maldhari community and Rabari passed on wrong information to media." However, Gupta could not explain that why he did not issue a clarification earlier when the controversy started and only after the protest started from within the community he came forward to clarify.
Protest at VNSGU campus gate.