I support discussion, not agitation: CM Sarma as TU protest intensifies

Guwahati, Dec 8: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday criticised the ongoing agitation at Tezpur University, asserting that he does not support protests and prefers dialogue to resolve issues.

Unrest has gripped the campus since mid-September, with students alleging that Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh and university authorities failed to accord due respect to singer Zubeen Garg during the state’s mourning period following his death.

“Where there is an agitation, I am not there. I will be there if there is a discussion,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an official event.

The campus has remained under a student-enforced “complete shutdown” since November 29, prompting the administration to cancel end-of-term examinations.

Asked whether the Vice-Chancellor had been removed after a visit by a central team on Saturday, Sarma said, “I don’t know.”

He added that he had earlier spoken to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, urging the Centre to appoint a Pro-VC immediately pending an impartial inquiry into the conduct of the current VC.

On Sunday, agitators reiterated that the shutdown would continue until the Centre issues a formal communication regarding the VC’s removal.

The situation escalated on Saturday night when a delegation from the Union Education Ministry, led by Secretary Vineet Joshi, was unable to leave the campus for more than three hours after being surrounded by students.

The team was allowed to depart past midnight after Joint Secretary Saumya Gupta provided a handwritten assurance stating that VC Singh would not administer the university until a “strict and time-bound inquiry” against him is completed.

With inputs from PTI