The Congress leader supported the FTII students opposed to the appointment of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman.
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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today came out strongly in support of the agitating students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTTI) in Pune and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of promoting “mediocrity” and stifling dissent. The RSS wants to promote their ideas. “That’s the nature of a bully, as long as you’re quiet, they’ll push you around but the moment you raise your voice, they’ll be scared of you”, he said to an attentive crowd.
He said the Government was suppressing the voice of the students by refusing to have a meaningful discussion on their demand.
They added that while the written test for FTII entrance examination 2015-16 was scheduled on August 9, it will now be held on August 23. “Your voice must be heard”. They are asking for a discussion. What is anti-national about these students who want to make their films? “Youth are the future of our country”.
Damage to the entrance door of the main Theater was reported as a result of vandalism by students when they were drunk. The government should not try and impose their rules on the students. In the process the elephant in the room, namely the suspected follow-up move by the government to privatise FTII was laid on the table by the students who asked for, and got an assurance, from Rahul Gandhi that he would not support any such initiative.
“Why is that a little school with around 250 students is disturbing the government’s peace of mind”. “I just want to ask students at FTII that if they are seeing a political worker in Gajendra Chauhan, are they seeing an actor in Rahul Gandhi?” “You just told me that you have been warned”, he said, turning to one of the students. It has been a “us versus them” approach by the BJP evident in the allegations being hurled at the students by RSS publications of being “Congress agents” and “anti Hindu”, accusations reserved for all dissent.
Even as the Congress vice president cheerfully chatted with students and lent his “total support” to the cause, the BJP led protest marches against him outside the institute.
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Students have been on strike for almost 50 days, boycotting academic work after failure of their talks with Union Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on July 3. “If PM Modi chose Gajendra Chauhan, no one in the party will ever say no even if they don’t agree on his appointment”, he added.
