New Delhi, July 3 

More than 200 students protesting the appointment of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as chairman of governing council of Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) were detained on Friday.

Scenes of bedlam met the eye at the site of protest outside the Ministry of Information and Broadcast, under which the institute falls, when students Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Delhi Technological University also joined in the protest. Police said the detained were taken to the Parliament Street police station.

“This is to ensure that the protest does not go out of hand,” an official said.

Chouhan’s appointment to the post last month has met opposition and vehement protests: protests claimed that Chouhan’s appointment was biased and accuse the central government of attempting to infringe upon the institute’s autonomy. They claim Chouhan, known primarily for his role as Yudhishtir in BR Chopra’s mega television series Mahabharat in the 80s, lacked the credentials required to head an known institute of film education. Protests have refused to accept anything short of his resignation.

“FTII is being saffronised and people close to the BJP are being appointed as heads of cultural and art institutions,” Kisley, a protesting FTII student, said.

The students also demanded that the FTII governing council should be reconstituted. IANS