NEW DELHI: Striking FTII students and the government held their fifth round of talks here on Tuesday but failed to reach an agreement on ending the 131-day-old protest.
A spokesman for the students from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune said the meeting with Information and Broadcasting Minister R.S. Rathore remained inconclusive.
“We have put forward our proposal again to the minister, like we did in the last four meetings. The minister said he needs time to figure it out with the ministry and get back to us.
"There were other peripheral issues that were discussed which should in the longer run help the institute function better,” Ranjit Nair, a member of the FTII students' core committee, told IANS.
Nair said the “ball is now in the ministry's court”.
The students have been protesting against the appointment of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the FTII.
The students say the appointment of Chauhan, best known for essaying the eldest Pandava brother Yudhisthir in B.R. Chopra's "Mahabharat", was highly questionable.