Was Willing To Accept Post Of FTII's Interim Chairman: Shatrughan Sinha

Pune: Disgruntled BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha has said that he had been willing to accept the post of 'interim chairman' of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) here and that he had also requested the current chairman Gajendra Chauhan to step down to end the stalemate with protesting students.

Referring to the protests by students at FTII over the appointment of Chauhan as its chairman, Mr Sinha yesterday said he had been willing to accept the post of 'interim chairman' of the institute and had even demanded a proper letter to the effect.

"At the same time (during the protests), Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Nagma, Raj Babbar visited FTII and also met President (Pranab Mukherjee). So some of our leaders felt that it will not be nice to intervene at that juncture and it became a prestige issue for the government," the former FTII alumnus said.

"I had requested Gajendra Chauhan to step down to end the stalemate, but it did not happen and the whole thing headed to confusion," he said.

Mr Sinha also condemned the police action of arresting students in a midnight swoop in August last year on a complaint by FTII Director Prashant Pathrabe.