FTII students launched a hunger strike protest last week.
The government's fresh proposal for talks without any preconditions to break the three-month-long stalemate at India's premier film school over the appointment of BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as chairman, is yet another "ambivalent" step, and not "concrete", students have said.
A letter from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry addressed to the students' union at the Film and Televisions Institute of India in Pune said, the government is was interested in settling the issue.
But one "one side posturing can never be a precondition of any negotiations / dialogue" and "day to day rhetoric and posturing" needs to be avoided, the letter said.
"In case you are keen to end the stalemate and resume the academics, you are welcome to discuss the issues with the Ministry without any preconditions," they said.
Responding to the letter, a student leader from the film school, Kislay said, "We have never set any preconditions. We are open for talks. Every time the government sees that struggle of FTII students is getting support from intellectuals and other sections of society, it says such things without any concrete proposals."
Calling for the release of a report by a government-appointed committee that visited the campus last month, he said, "We want the government to specify its stand. It has always been ambivalent."
The letter had come even as Maharashtra BJP leader Madhav Bhandari said he held "informal talks" with students' representatives today yesterday.
The BJP-led government at the Centre and students of the college have been at loggerheads for over three months, over the appointment of small-time TV actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman, someone who students allege does not have the credentials to hold that office.
Last Thursday, three students started a relay hunger strike on campus in Pune to protest the government's move and have been in and out of hospitals due to health concerns.