The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) on Friday raised an issue against the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) management for curbing the activity of its team in conducting meetings on the campus. The Circle got into a controversy last year for criticising Central government policies.

IIT-M had allegedly denied permission to some students to attend a seminar on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

Alleging that discrimination against APSC continued on the campus, the student’s group said “this is not a single incident. We have been stifled and not allowed to conduct any such events from the day APSC began. The restrictions increased even after APSC was recognised”.

Condeming the move by the IIT-M management for not allowing some students, APSC said that shortly before the seminar could begin, the security personnel who were at the entrance of the auditorium, refused to allow people who didn’t have an IIT identity card as per order of dean of student.

“Due to this many who came to hear Prof. Ram Punyani’s speech were not able to attend the meeting and they went back disappointed”, it said adding, “It is very hard to digest that even during the anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar, such discrimination continues”.

The APSC also alleged that right from the day the students of the organisation decided to have a seminar on Ambedkar’s birth day, the management started creating hurdles. “We crossed them one after the other”, it added.

Citing a recent seminar on “Innovations driving the fourth industrial revolution” by CEO of Switzerland based Robtic company, conducted inside the campus, the APSC said members joined in from various corporate houses and none of them were denied entry