Students Scuffle With Police During Bid To Gherao Odisha CM’s House Demanding Union Polls

Bhubaneswar: A large number of students staged a protest and scuffled with police while trying to gherao Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence in Bhubaneswar on Monday to demand holding of union elections in colleges and universities in Odisha.

The demonstrators under the banner of All Odisha Student Voice came face to face with police personnel when they were stopped from marching towards Naveen Niwas in a bid to gherao the CM’s residence.

Attacking the government for not allowing student union elections in the state since 2018, the angry protesters also hurled eggs at the poster of Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari besides entering into a scuffle with police.

Lamenting that elections in colleges and universities have not been held since 2018, they said it has caused resentment among many students who want immediate steps to ensure holding of student union polls across the state.

Alleging that the ruling BJD has deliberately put a hold on elections in colleges and universities, the protesters claimed that leaders of the regional party are spreading  terror in campuses.

This has led to interference by outsiders in colleges, ragging and other illegal activities in universities and colleges, the protesters alleged.

Students’ union elections in the state were cancelled in 2018 due to cyclone Titli, while  it was not held due to campus violence in 2019 followed by Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

At present, committees are formed by students to address various issues in colleges and universities. The students’ wings of different political parities have also lashed out at the ruling BJD and demanded immediate steps for holding students’ union elections in the state.