Daijiworld Media Network - Puducherry (SHP)
Puducherry, Dec 24: A student of the Pondicherry University who secured a gold medal for her master's course in Mass Communication alleged that she was prevented from attending her convocation ceremony on Monday which had invited President Ram Nath Kovind as the chief guest.
The student identified as Rabeeha Abdurehim hails from Kerala refused to accept the gold medal to express solidarity with students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Rabeeha claimed that a senior police officer asked her to leave the auditorium before the commencement of the convocation.
She was allowed into the auditorium after the President left when the ceremony continued to present gold medals and certificates to the outgoing graduates.
However, Rabeeha has stated that she was unaware of the actual reason of why she was asked to leave by the senior officer. She asserted that she received the degree scroll but declined to accept the gold medal to express support for the students protesting against CAA.
Meanwhile, an official in the University told PTI that they did not know what had happened outside.
"The ceremony went off well," the official said.
Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind participated in the 27th convocation of the Pondicherry University, amidst a boycott by members of the students' council over the newly amended law.
The convocation was also attended by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and chief minister V Narayanasamy, amid tight security in and around the campus.