Students

Fergusson College

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad

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Deccan Education Society

The last-minute cancellation of retired Justice BG Kolse Patil’s lecture aton Monday sent out a wave of unease on the campus. Kolse Patil, who had received an invitation, had even reached the college, only to be told that his talk would not take place. The organising team of students were pulled in for a discussion amid the fiasco, who insisted for permission.In the end, Kolse Patil delivered his lecture right in the middle of the premises. His was the first lecture in the Yuva Jagar series organised by students on occasion of birth anniversaries of Rajmata Jijabai and Swami Vivekananda. The programme, before its formal annulment, was opposed by(ABVP) members through slogans. They were kept at bay by the cops.Kolse Patil spoke on Indian Constitution, where he denounced the burning to mark disrespect, in the presence of hundreds of students, with a guard around him, for 20 minutes. Nonetheless, they were baffled due to the sudden informal nature of events.One of the organisers, third-year student Sharmila Yeole, said, “The college had initially given the permission, only to deny it in the last hour. When we demanded they give it to us in writing, they simply cancelled the event. Even then, we wanted Kolse Patil to deliver the lecture, which took place at college premises as the college did not even open the amphitheatre.”Kolse Patil also claimed that he does not have a problem with the location of a programme and can instead speak anywhere. That said, he affirmed that the college did not inform him of the cancellation. “While the lecture continued in the college at a different location, the police kept the ABVP away from me. I gave the lecture as students wished,” he said.ABVP also reasoned its opposition to the lecture, with city head Anil Thombare saying that they were against Kolse Patil’s entry over the pronounced denial from college. “This resulted into unnecessary chaos and tension on the college campus. He is accused of sexual harassment and has been one the chief organisers of the controversial Elgaar Parishad,” he said.Over denial of permission, Sharad Kunte, chairman of, cited legal reasons. “Our principal is on leave and the principal-in-charge gave permission for this programme. But later, we asked students to change the venue and even suggested a few. We have no political pressure, but there is legal pressure due to which we had to cancel the programme. We had welcomed the speaker and respect the topic of his lecture. But we did not receive any response from students regarding the venue change,” he said.The second lecture — to be delivered by Amol Mithkari, a young orator, on Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji — is scheduled on January 24.