Traumatic delay: Smriti Irani faces student protest in Varanasi

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani faced the ire of students at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi Saturday.

In the city, also the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the union minister was booed and gheraoed by angry students who blamed her for the delay in inauguration of a trauma center.

Construction of the multi-crore rupee trauma center was completed almost a year ago but it is yet to be inaugurated, apparently because the HRD minister has not been able to find time for it. 

While Irani had so far maintained that she did not get the invitation, when confronted with a letter by the BHU authorities to this effect, the minister said that the inauguration was getting delayed since there was no vice-chancellor in the varsity.

She assured the angry students that very soon the impasse will be sorted out and the trauma center inaugurated. Irani, a close aide of Narendra Modi was in the city to attend a function.