Impasse in Manipur University over demand for Vice Chancellor Adya Prasad Pandey's ouster

GUWAHATI: The ongoing impasse in Manipur University over the demand by students who are seeking the resignation of Vice Chancellor Adya Prasad Pandey refuses to die down.

The students locked up all departments of the university on Wednesday. Earlier, 21 heads of departments had put in their papers in a show of solidarity with the students.

The protests are being staged even as four tribal students' organisations have announced an indefinite state-wide shutdown in protest against the state government's failure to appoint tribal language teachers in the state's higher secondary schools. The Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU) made it amply clear that it would not relent till the VC steps down.

It held the Central government responsible for the stalemate. The students are miffed with the VC's alleged whimsical attitude which includes his frequenting places outside Manipur. They accused him of misuse of university funds and obtaining Y-category security among others.

The MUSU resolved that it would request the Visitor (President of India) to remove the VC for restoration of normalcy on the varsity campus. However, stating that he will not resign, the VC insisted he was only following the rules in running the institute. The impasse started on May 30 and since then, the agitation got intensified each passing day which resulted in the postponement of exams.

Meanwhile, a joint committee of the four tribal students' bodies slammed the state's BJP government for not appointing lecturers in nine tribal languages for higher secondary schools. Earlier, it served a 30-day deadline on the government to issue a recruitment notification for tribal language teachers but it bore no fruit. "We have been forced to go for an indefinite shutdown as the state government ignored our deadline for a genuine cause," Thangtinlen Haokip, leader of one of the tribal students' bodies, said.