BENGALURU: During his maiden Twitter interaction on Sunday, Dy CM Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said that the government was committed to protecting everyone’s freedom of speech. He added that the government would not allow any attacks on the nation’s unity and integrity.
Narayan was responding to a question one user raised regarding what the government was doing to ensure that a Jawaharlal Nehru University-like incident does not happen in the state. The user went on to add that the state’s colleges had become ‘breeding grounds for extremist ideologies at the taxpayer’s expense.’
“Even though fees has been hiked exponentially, when will the stipends for post-graduate students be increased?” asked a student. He said that students had to resort to protests each time for this and demanded a solution. Narayan assured the student that he would speak to the officials concerned about it.
Another Twitter user pointed out that for the past nine years, no lecturers have been appointed to Government Polytechnic colleges. Narayan said, “This budget will herald a renewed focus on Polytechnic Colleges.” He rebuffed a demand for a ban on mobile phones in classes.