Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students today staged a dharna outside the Vice-Chancellor's office against the proposal of transferring university land to private parties for development work.
The protests continued at the campus as well, despite the university's decision to defer any decision on the contentious issue of transferring university lands to private groups.
A number of associations have joined hands with the AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) to announce that they would oppose any move to involve private groups for hiring or leasing university land at Aligarh or in the three states of West Bengal, Bihar and Kerala where the university is running off campus centres.
The AMU Technical Staff Association, AMU Employees Union, AMU officers Association and AMU All India Old Boys Association held a joint press conference yesterday to voice their solidarity on the issue.
The President of the AMUTA Mujahid Beg alleged that the university's announcement deferring any discussion on land transfers during the meeting of the university executive council was a ploy to raise this issue at a later convenient date.
He demanded that instead of deferring this matter, the council should take up the matter and finally reject it.
Beg added that the university's Visitor, the President of India should set up a high level probe to find out whether vested interests were behind the move for involving private developers in university lands.
