A group of engineering students today held a protest during the convocation ceremony of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) and burnt copies of their degrees, demanding job assurance from the state government.
At the 24th convocation function of the farm varsity here, in which Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Yoga guru Ramdev were conferred honorary doctorate degrees in the presence of Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, the BTech Agriculture students caught the authorities off guard with their protest.
The group of students got up and wanted to meet the governor and chief minister. However, on being denied permission by security officials, the irked students stormed out of the university auditorium and set on fire the copies of their degrees.
They demanded that the government give job assurance to them as many B Tech Agriculture passouts have failed to secure employment.
The students wanted to return their degrees to the governor and chief minister, and sought their cancellation.
"If the government is not in a position to provide jobs to BTech students then it should close the Agriculture Engineering College of the university," a student demanded.
Meanwhile, the HAU conferred honorary doctorate on Khattar in recognition of his "invaluable contribution to the society for preserving the ancient vedic culture, promoting social harmony and inculcating moral values and ethics."
At the convocation function here, an honorary degree of Doctor of Science was also awarded to Ramdev, who is Haryana's brand ambassador for promotion of Yoga and Ayurveda.
The citation of Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) given to Khattar noted the "introduction and implementation of the new idea of redressal of grievances through CM window, zero tolerance for corruption, equitable development, merit based transparent recruitment, healthcare, higher education particularly in medicine and agriculture by Manohar Lal as Chief Minister".
It also acknowledged his role in "opening a new college of Agriculture at Bawal in South Haryana and launching Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign in the state".
The citation to Ramdev recognised his "invaluable service to humanity through his contribution to Yoga, Ayurveda and agriculture".
Governor Solanki, who is also the Chancellor of the university, presided over the convocation ceremony.
