Three Dalit students who had raised slogans against Narendra Modi when the Prime Minister had arrived at Lucknow's Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University to deliver the convocation address, later found that their stay at the university's hostel had been cancelled. They have alleged that shouting slogans against the Prime Minister was the reason why they were thrown out of the hostel.
"I voiced my dissent. For that I was evicted from the Siddhartha Boys’ Hostel of the university and my boarding for the night cancelled even though my room was booked for two days. We had deposited Rs. 200 for the boarding," Nirmal told The Hindu.
The Hindu article also reports: "Ram Karan Nirmal and Amrendra Kumar Arya found themselves surrounded by security personnel soon after raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Their mouths were forcibly shut as they were dragged away to preventive detention."
The students were booked under Section 151 (disturbance of public peace) of the Indian Penal Code, following which hey were sent to preventive custody. They were released a few hours later after they agreed to sign a personal bond.
The Tribune reports: "The three students who are Dalit, and have completed their LLM from the university, had come to receive their degrees at the convocation. They had been provided accommodation in the hostel to attend the function, but were evicted after the incident."
They were seated at the auditorium where the Prime Minister was delivering his speech. They stood up while the speech was still on and started shouting slogans like 'Modi Murdabad'. They were immediately escorted out by the security personnel present at the venue and then detained at the local police station.
However, they do not regret their act. The students told The Hindu that they would do the same if they can find another opportunity. Surendra Nigam, one of the protesting students said, "What delayed him for so many days? Just because we protested he was forced to shed crocodile tears. He was forced to speak up merely for fear of losing Dalit votes in the 2017 elections."
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