FTII stir: Students threaten hunger strike, Chauhan meets Rathore

On the warpath over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman, students of the premier institute today threatened to launch a hunger strike for his ouster as the fast by a faculty member for "immediate resolution" of the crisis entered its third day today.
"The students will be sitting on an indefinite hunger strike if our demands are not met by the government which has put us in this situation. There is no option left," FTII Students' Association (FSA) representative Vikas Urs told journalists.
The FSA, however, did not set a date to start the hunger strike.
Meanwhile, amid the continuing stir for his removal, Chauhan called on Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore in New Delhi.

Sources in the Ministry did not disclose what transpired during the meeting but said the government was open to a dialogue to end the impasse but the students should have an agenda that addresses the "systemic issues". They said "hard positions" were not conducive to finding solutions.
"He was here in Delhi, so he decided to to meet the minister," an official source said adding that the meeting at Shastri Bhawan lasted nearly 15 minutes.

The strike by students of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India entered 88th day today with academic activity on the campus on a stand still since June 12 in protest against the appointment of Chauhan, a BJP member, best known for playing the role of Yudhishthir in epic TV serial Mahabharat.

Meanwhile, the fast undertaken by Abhijit Das, a contractual faculty member from the Art Direction department, has entered its third day.
Referring to Das' fast, Urs said it was "extremely disturbing".
"In a democracy we need to be heard on issues raised by us. No official communication has reached us from the (Information & Broadcasting) Ministry on the fast started by Das," Urs said.