I&B Minister welcomes FTII students' move to call off strike

New Delhi: Welcoming the decision of agitating students of FTII to call off their strike, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore on Wednesday said that the ministry would continue to engage with them for improvement of the institute.

"I am glad that they are returning back to their classes. The discussions on how to improve this institute will continue," Rathore said adding that the government was committed to making FTII an institution of national importance.

Asked if in the last meeting between the Ministry and the students of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), there had been any decision related to ending of the strike, Rathore said the students had voluntarily decided to call off the stir.

"We did discuss that one of the best ways of continuing discussions is not to inflict injuries on yourself and to go back to the classes," Rathore said.

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FTII students end their strike after 139 days

Earlier in the day, the agitating FTII students had unilaterally called off their 139-day-old strike, but made it clear their protest against appointment of TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman will continue.

They also ruled out any "proactive engagement" with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry until the issue of appointment of Chauhan, best known for his role of Yudhishthir in teleserial Mahabharata, and four other FTII society members, gets resolved.

When pointed out that FTII students had said that they would continue to hold protests, the minister said they could do so if they strongly felt about something.