President Ram Nath Kovind

PUDUCHERRY: Pondicherry University students' council has decided to boycott the convocation ceremony of the university on December 23 in which President Ram Nath Kovind will participate and award degrees to students.

In a joint statement on Friday, council secretary V Kuralanban and president Parichay Yadav said the boycott was meant to register the council's dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and to express their solidarity with the students facing repression across the nation while protesting the implementation of the legislation in a peaceful manner.

They said the university administration had approached the council to facilitate a smooth conduct of the convocation. "But, in the light of the ongoing protests against the CAA and the NRC all over the nation, the council refused to facilitate and decided to boycott the event," they said.

