FTII Row: After Salman Khan and Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal speaks up against Gajendra Chauhan

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has assured the students of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) that they can count on his help. A government official told IANS: “The chief minister told the students that he was with them and he also agreed to their demand of raising the issue in Parliament.” He is also quoted saying: “They said though the prerogative of appointing the chairman lies with the government, the credentials of the person also matters,” the official said.

Earlier, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had spoken up for the students of FTII saying  that the RSS and their ideology promoted mediocrity. Rahul Gandhi had said: “Only the PM decides in the BJP, only one man has power. If the PM wants somebody, the BJP can't remove them.” Noted director Vidhu Vinod Chopra also met the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitely to discuss the matter.

Superstar Salman Khan had joined other top Bollywood celebrities to support the striking students and said that the Mahabharata star should listen to his detractors. "I think that he (Chauhan) should listen to the students ...because the students have made our industry, worthy industry...," Salman had said. Others who oppose the appointment include Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anupam Kher, Kiran Rao, Sudhir Mishra, Resul Pookutty and Piyush Mishra. The decision also saw Santosh Sivan, Pallavi Joshi and Jahnu Barua resign as members of the FTII Society to show solidarity with the students.

Veteran actor Soumitra Chaterjee, who recently appeared in Sujoy Ghosh's Ahalya along with Radhika Apte, actually said that he had never heard of Gajendra Chauhan. He asked: “Who is Gajendra Chauhan? I don't know who he is. Anyone who will occupy a responsible position should have good body of work. Does he have that? Who is he?"