Annual meeting of AMU court begins

The annual meeting of the Aligarh Muslim University court for electing the varsity's next chancellor, pro-chancellor and honorary treasurer began today amidst tight security arrangements here.
These posts have been lying vacant for nearly four years following postponement of the annual general meeting on a number of occasions on account of technical reasons.
These posts are decided on the basis of voting by members of the AMU Court. The results of the electoral process would be announced by this evening, the varsity sources said.
AMU court is the supreme governing body of the varsity.It is being attended by 125 members.

It had acquired political significance when earlier this year the BJP chose to include the name of controversial Bijnor MP Kunwar Bhartendra Singh in its Parliament quota for membership to the AMU Court.
Some leaders of the AMU Students' Union led by the Vice President Masoodul Hasan had declared that they would bar the entry of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots accused into the campus.

Earlier this morning, a large group of protesters collected at the site of the court meeting at the NRSC club hall here.
As soon as the cavalcade of the cars belonging to prominent BJP leaders approached the site of the meeting, the students leaders surrounded the vehicles and raised slogans against Singh.

However, the situation was defused when it was found that Singh is not attending the meeting.
The meeting which is now proceeding smoothly is attended by three BJP MPs including Bhola Singh, Rajveer Singh, and Satish Gautam.
When contacted, the district BJP president Devraj Singh told PTI that Kunwar Singh has not come to attend the meeting because of the illness of his mother.
The meeting of the court is drawing further public interest in view of the fact that the former Vice-Chancellor of AMU and retired bureaucrat, Mahmoodur Rahman has announced his candidature for the post of Chancellor ship.

He has announced that he would oppose the candidature of Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the head of the Shia Bohra community in India, who is reported to have the support of the present AMU administration.