CHENNAI: IIT-Madras today called an emergency meeting of its Board of Students to discuss the derecognition of student group Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), which is insisting on rollback of the action and an apology.
The decision was taken during talks held between the authorities and the protesting students to resolve the standoff, after the student group held protest inside the campus.
In a meeting held with IIT-M authorities, members of the student group put forth a five-point charter of demands including its re-recognition and "unconditional apology from the Dean (Students) for misuse of official power."
The other demands included-- overturning of "undemocratic" code of conduct which was against Article 19 (a) Freedom of Expression, officially recognising all independent student bodies and providing democratic spaces and equal privileges like hall, IITM official mail account to all of them, an official statement from IIT-M said.
"After further detailed discussions, it has been decided to convene an emergency meeting of the Board of Students (BoS) at the earliest (later this week or early next week, according to convenience of the members of BoS and APSC team," it said.
Members of APSC earlier staged a placard-holding protest inside the campus of the premier technical education institute here. Media was not allowed entry to cover the agitation.
Journalists who went to cover the protest were not allowed entry inside and were seen arguing with the police.
IIT-M is in the eye of a political storm over the derecognition of APSC for allegedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union HRD Minster Smriti Irani has also come under fire from political parties like Congress and students' bodies for the action against the student body.
IIT-Madras had, however, maintained that "as per the guidelines in force, student bodies cannot use the name of IIT Madras or its official entities in any capacity to publicise their activities or garner support without official permission."
"This group has violated the guidelines while conducting their meeting," Prof Ramamurthy, Acting Director, had said last week.