Opposition MPs have written to AMU Vice Chancellor Naima Khatoon over reported police action against students during collective prayers at the protest site.
SKM’s planned ‘Virodh Diwas’ in Uttar Pradesh will include AMU students’ grievances alongside opposition to electricity privatisation.
Protesting students of Aligarh Muslim University on Tuesday marched to the district collectorate and burned an effigy of Vice Chancellor Naima Khatoon as the agitation entered its fifth day.
The students are demanding the rollback of a steep fee hike, the holding of students’ union elections which are pending for eight years, and the removal of certain senior university officials they hold responsible for the current crisis.
According to PTI, several opposition MPs have written to Khatoon expressing concern over the reported police action on the campus on Friday, when many protesters were offering collective prayers at the dharna site.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer organisations, announced it would extend support to the AMU students.
In a statement, the group said it would raise the students’ demands alongside those of farmers during a ‘Virodh Diwas’ protest on Wednesday, called to oppose the privatisation of electricity supply in Uttar Pradesh.
The SKM has also demanded an inquiry into the alleged police crackdown on Friday afternoon. “The SKM wants a probe into the alleged police crackdown on the protesting AMU students on the campus on Friday afternoon,” said Shashikant, a member of the farmer group’s national executive, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
