RSS mouthpiece Organiser has deprecated the agitation by FTII students for removal of the newly appointed chief of the institute Gajendra Chouhan, saying the actor was being targeted for the “ideology he subscribes”, days after it termed the protesters as “anti-Hindu”.
The article, while defending the government’s right to make appointments, says Chauhan deserves an opportunity to prove his credentials rather than being dismissed without a chance.
“More than anything else, Gajendra Chauhan is being targeted for the ideology he subscribes.
“In this country, everyone has an inalienable right under the Constitution to hold an opinion and subscribe to any ideology – right, left, centrist, Congress, an alien one and so on – as long as it does not militate against the interests of the nation,” it said, recalling Chauhan’s “stellar performance” as Yudhishtir in the epic serial ‘Mahabharat’.
It said though the workers have an unchallenged right to demand higher wages and best working conditions, none of them can decide who should be the managing director and chief executive officer of the industrial house.
“Otherwise, democracy will be reduced to mobocracy which nobody in the country can cherish,” the piece said.
It took a dig at the protesting students, saying, “The Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) at Pune has earned the distinction of being the only institution in the country where the pupils possess the veto power to reject the appointment of the institute’s chief by the government.”
“It also seems to be the unique educational institute where the result is declared even before a person has sat for the examination,” it said.
“Can and should people or students reject off hand an appointment without giving the person so selected a chance to prove his worth. If a person fails to come up to the expectations to deliver the goods, everyone has a right to demand of the government to show door to the person,” the article said.
It also referred to the appointment of Binayak Sen, accused of having links with Maoists in Chhattisgarh, to a “prestigious committee” of the erstwhile Planning Commission by the previous UPA government.