'Occupy UGC': Yogendra Yadav to spend night at protest venue

NEW DELHI: Swaraj Abhiyan leader and former UGC member Yogendra Yadav today decided to spend a night with the students protesting outside the Commission's against scrapping of non-NET fellowships.

As the 'Occupy UGC' movement entered 15th day today, Yadav along with Swaraj Abhiyan leaders marched from Constitution Club to the UGC office near ITO where students have been camping.

Earlier in the day, a resolution was passed in the Swaraj Abhiyan Youth Summit, rejecting UGC's decision to scrap the fellowship as "non-acceptable".

"We welcomed this protest on the very first day. I know what happens inside the commission, I have earlier also said that this committee was constituted to expand the scope of the fellowship and not to discontinue them. Today, I will sit the entire night with the protesters," Yadav said while addressing the protesting students.

The protesters burnt effigy of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that their fellows who conducted a similar protest in Kolkata yesterday were lathicharged by police.

Students from Allahabad University also joined the "Occupy UGC" protesters today.

Besides Yogendra Yadav, former AAP leaders Anand Kumar, Prashant Bhusan and Dharamveer Gandhi also came to the protest venue to express solidarity with the students.

"The government is anti-people. The only thing that they do is issue diktats what to wear, what to eat, whom to marry. They are cutting funds in education we will fight them inside Parliament and outside too," Gandhi said.

UGC had resolved to discontinue the scheme of non-National Eligibility Test (NET) fellowship, which is provided to those undertaking research in central universities across India, in a meeting held on October 7, citing shortage of resources.