OU VC denies Maoist presence on campus

(Coutesy : http://www.deccanchronicle.com/hyderabad/ou-vc-denies-maoist-presence-campus-364)

The Osmania University vice-chancellor Prof. Tirupathi Rao on Sunday said there are no Maoists on the university campus and the allegation that Maoists have infiltrated the campus under cover of the Telangana movement is “baseless”. Prof Rao was speaking to reporters at OU.

His statement contradicts the submission made by the state government this week in the Supreme Court that there is “sufficient evidence” that Maoists have infiltrated the campus and are taking shelter there.

The government also informed the apex court that Maoists have significantly infiltrated the pro-Telangana movement and are posing as agitators.

When reporters pointed out the government’s stand, Prof. Rao said, “I don’t know why the home ministry has given such a report to the government. We have no information about the presence of Maoists on the campus or about them taking shelter in the student hostels. Not a single such instance has come to our notice till now.”

Prof. Rao also wants the executive council of the university to be informed before police forces are deployed on campus.

“It’s not that we don’t require the police to control violence on the campus. If the need arises, we will definitely seek their help. However, the police department should inform the university about such deployment in advance,” he said.

He also urged students not to disrupt academics and exams through agitations.

“It’s not just the question of 10,000 students who are pursuing studies on the campus. It’s about the future of nearly 50,000 students who are studying in the university-affiliated colleges. If the exams are postponed because of tension on the campus, all the other students will have to suffer for no fault of theirs,” he said.

He warned that if there is, a “zero year”, students will have to face the consequences when they apply for further studies or jobs.