Not willing to accept protesting is students' right: Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar

PANAJI: Against the backdrop of protests by former FTII students at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today said the protesting students did not have a "right" to do so.

Parsekar told reporters that he could not accept that the students had a right to protest and the action taken against them was too harsh.

"I am not willing to accept that protesting is their right. We are the organisers (of IFFI) and anything that happens at IFFI will reflect on the state and the functioning of the government," Parsekar said.

Parsekar was asked about the action initiated against the protesting students and sympathisers who have been slapped with severe sections including criminal conspiracy.

They have however been given bail. A third student was arrested by the police for simply wearing a T-shirt that bore his institution's logo.

"The issue is not something we can solve, but if anyone wants to come and meet me I am open to discussions with them," he added.

Parsekar also rejected claims that there were instructions issued to the police to be especially harsh on the students.

"No instructions have been issued," Parsekar said.

The protesting FTII students in a change of gears have decided to hold a two-day film festival to draw attention to their cause and how the government has treated them.

Police had arrested two former FTII students, identified as Kislay and Shubham, on Friday for allegedly raising placards and shouting slogans during the inaugural session of IFFI while Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar were in audience, and later booked them under IPC sections of criminal conspiracy.

An FTII student, identified as Ashutosh, was detained by police on Saturday for wearing a tee-shirt with an FTII logo.

Students of the premier Pune-based institute had staged a 139-day strike from June 12 in protest against the appointment of 'Mahabharata' actor Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman, saying he was "unfit" for the post.

The students, however, called off their strike unilaterally on October 29, but insisted that their protests would continue.