FTII Chairperson Gajendra Chauhan, whose appointment has been the most controversial, has said that he was approached to be on Bigg Boss 9 but he refused to appear to maintain dignity of his assigned job at FTII. The agitating FTII students called off their 139-days long strike on Wednesday, but insisted that the protest against Chauhan's appointment will still continue.
According to a report in Deccan Chronicle, Chauhan has said that he didn't want his job as the chairperson of FTII to be compromised by accepting Bigg Boss 9.
"I refused the offer to be on Bigg Boss just so that my job as the chairperson of the FTII won’t be compromised. I didn’t think twice before saying no to Bigg Boss. I am surprised that people within the film fraternity decided I was unfit for the job even without giving me a chance. I was appointed from June 9. The students’ agitation started on 12 June. I wish I was given an opportunity to prove myself,” said Chauhan while speaking toDeccan Chronicle.
Chauhan has also said that he is looking forward to have a constructive discussion with the students so that he can understand their problems and try to help them overcome them. He further stated that if the government had asked him to resign from the post, he would have readily and immediately done so.
The 139-days long strike that was called off on Wednesday was the seventh major and the longest such protest in the history of the Film and Television Institute of India, which is replete with stirs and agitations for various causes affecting the students.
FTII Students Association (FSA) representative Vikas Urs had said on Wednesday the students have taken a collective decision to go back to academics with "immediate effect" in the best interest of the fraternity. Referring to FSA's talks with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry which could not end the stalemate, Urs had said the ministry conveyed the impression that it had no mandate to take a decision in the matter.
"Now, it goes beyond the five appointments (of Chauhan and four FTII society members) which we had questioned. The right wing attitude is exposed and we know who is running the country," Urs said on Wednesday, apparently targeting BJP's ideological mentor RSS.
A series of talks between the agitating students and government's representatives, including one with Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in New Delhi on October 20, had failed to break the deadlock as the agitators refused to budge from their main demand for removal of Chauhan, while the Ministry rejected it outright.
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