Anti-VC Protest Continues; Supporters also Stage Rally
Patna: January 16, 2008
 Turning up heat on the state government, a host of students' union in Patna on Wednesday demonstrated throughout the city and burnt the effigy of Patna University Vice Chancellor Dr. Y. C. Simadri to demand for his removal.
Dharnas and processions were organized at the Kargil Chowk and the Income Tax roundabout by the members of Students' Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Students' Janata Dal – U, and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) who accused the Vice Chancellor of being incompetent, promoting financial irregularities, and running the university affairs in a dictatorial manner.
Demanding his resignation, the protestors also took out a mock funeral of Dr. Simadri.
Meanwhile, several students not associated with the above mentioned outfits, took out their own rally in support of the Vice Chancellor who, they said, was trying to restore some sanity in the university which had lost its academic status thanks to the previous government's lackadaisical attitude towards education and ineptness of former Vice Chancellors.
"For almost two decades, these students have gotten away with crime in the name of education. Cheating in exams became a standard operating procedure under the previous governments, and criminal elements with the backing of a handful of politicians took control of the university functioning while filling the hostels with criminals. Dr. Simadri tried to put an end to all these and that is why he is now facing the wrath of the status quo," said Arif Mohammed, a member of the Dalit Backward Muslim Front and a Simadri sympathizer.
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