FTII students have no right to protest at IFFI: Goa CM
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 23 November 2015 15:03 IST
Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar has gone tough on the protesting students and ex-students of the Film and Television Institute of India during IFFI.
“FTII students have no right to agitate at IFFI. Goa is hosting IFFI. They should go to proper forum”, Parsekar told media today.
Goa police till date have arrested two ex-students of FTII for shouting slogans at IFFI inaugural, detained and released one student for wearing IFFI T-shirt and stopped seven students while going to watch films.
The arrested students were later released by the court.
Goa CM however denied the charge that state police were treating these students as terrorists and harassing them.
When media pointed out that Goa is only the host but the organiser is the Information and Broadcasting ministry, against whom the students are protesting, he said:
“May be, but I am worried about Goa’s image getting tarnished here at the international festival. Why are they agitating in Goa”, he asked.
He also once again appealed to the FTII students to come to him, while assuring them to intervene to resolve their demands.
The FTII students, who were on strike for 139 days since 12 June, have recently withdrawn their strike while continuing the protest actions.
The students are protesting against the I&B Ministry, who organises IFFI, for appointing Gajendra Chauhan, as the FTII director alleging that it is a political appointment and he has no credentials.
India’s renowned filmmaker Saeed Mirza, who was the director of FTII earlier, has also agreed with the demand and has appealed to the whole film fraternity to support their agitation.
