Students to intensify stir; To stage protests tomorrow

New Delhi, May 11 (UNI) Agitating medical students, opposed to a further 27 per cent reservation in centres of higher learning, today said they will intensify their ongoing strike, stressing they were forced to take the stir to the ''next level'' since Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had failed to address their demands.

The medical students of Delhi's five medical colleges, under the banner of 'Youth for Equality', with support from United Students', Youth for Justice and other organisations will stage protests in Lady Hardinge Medical College tomorrow morning.

However, the students, who are demanding a roll-back of the increased OBC reservation proposal, refused to give details about how they will intensify the agitation.

''The Prime Minister and the Government is not bothered about the issues we have raised. They have failed to respond to our demands... we are forced to take the agitation to next level,'' AIIMS Students' Union spokesperson Sasmit Sarangi told a news conference here.

''So far we have been holding peaceful demonstration.... we can not guarantee the same now,'' he added.

He said since all talks and negotiations with the Government had failed the students were not left with any other option but to ''intensify the struggle''.

Claiming that they were under tremendous pressure from students across the country, he said the ''no response attitude'' of the government was not acceptable.

''So far we have been holding peaceful demonstrations but now we are ready to go to any extend to make the government take note of our demands.'' Stressing that they do not want to cause inconvenience to patients, he remained non-committal about the impact of the stir on services in hospitals.

'' We do not want to cause inconvenience to patients....'' he added.

MORE UNI NR VD DB2010