New Delhi, May 30 (IANS): The AAP's youth and students wings on Saturday protested in the capital over the alleged banning of a student group at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras for distributing controversial pamphlets.

"The Ambedkar Periyar Student Circle (APSC) on the IIT Madras campus must be allowed to function as usual as it is part of the democratic rights of the students to voice their concern over the policies and politics of the country," said Anupam, president of the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS).

It demanded that banning of the students' discussion forum named after Dalit icons Ambedkar and Periyar was not just an attack on the rights of students but also shameful for the democratic values of the country.

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has denied her ministry's role in banning the students group for distributing controversial pamphlets. She said the action was taken according to the institute's "own procedure and guidelines".