Students protest,turn down degrees

On a day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the 57th annual convocation at IIT-Kharagpur,a group of students held demonstrations outside the campus demanding a strong Lokpal Bill.

While two students did not accept degrees as a mark of protest,about 40 students took out a rally outside the premises in support of the demand for a strong Lokpal bill.

Refusing to accept his degree,Shashi Sekhar Singh,an MTech student of Civil Engineering,said Accepting the degree from the Prime Minister could have been a life-time experience,but I believe I should accept my degree from him only in a situation when we have a strong Lokpal bill.

Shashi Sekhar Singh has started teaching at MJ College of Engineering in Hyderabad.

In protest,Shashi Sekhar,along with other students,sat on a stage throughout the day,about 500 metres from the campus.

Another MTech student,Chandra Kumar Patel,came for the ceremony wearing a Gandhi cap. He also refused to take off his cap despite instructions to do so by the IIT authorities. However,he left the venue a few minutes before the PM arrived.

Ritesh Singh,a third-year computer science student,said the students were not allowed to hold protests. Ritesh is on fast since August 16.

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Today,around 40 students took out a rally. Police threatened us with a lathicharge if we did not disperse, he said. About 40 students took part in the protests and were on hunger strike on Monday,he said.

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