NLU Odisha administration does u-turn on statement condemning student protests

The administration of National Law University, Odisha (NLU Odisha) has officially retracted its previous press statement which said that student protests at the University were illegal and amounted to arm-twisting..In its previous statement, the NLU Odisha administration had claimed the protest was timed to disrupt prominent events happening at the University It also questioned the legitimacy of the Student Council which called for the protests..The latest statement issued by the University reads,"In the further interest of the Student Body and for restoring conducive academic atmosphere in the University campus, NLUO has decided to withdraw the press statement released yesterday.".The Student Council had begun protesting against the lack of functional infrastructure, academic policies, mental health insensitivity, and breach of their privacy last week, on January 24. The administration later released a statement claiming that the root cause of the protest was the Academic Council's decision to evaluate tutorial classes, which has been met with discontent by the students.Vice-Chancellor Prof Ved Kumari stated that her position did not allow her to overrule the decision, but the matter would be placed in front of the next Academic Council."The unreasonable and malafide nature of their protest is manifested in their actions yesterday. After the Registrar, Chief Warden, and Controller of exam on behalf of the Vice Chancellor agreed to take two interim measures of suspending evaluation till the next Academic Council meeting and partial opening of the Academic Block to which the members of the Student Council agree to stop the protest, and the Vice Chancellor agreed to meet them, they backtracked and started asking for acceptance of more demands by the Vice Chancellor including an open ended GBM," the statement read..Speaking with Bar & Bench, the Student Council stated that the protest is still ongoing. They are in communication with the administration. The Chancellor, Acting Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, Justice Arindam Sinha has promised to meet with the Student Council on February 3. .In a statement on social media, the Student Council has stated"...this demonstration will only be called off upon written assurance addressing our non-negotiable demands.".Corrigendum: An older version of this article stated that the Vice-Chancellor has agreed to meet with the Student Council on February 3. The error is regretted.