Contestants of the western dance team of KIMT alleged that one of the judges went on stage after the event and called them ‘cheaply dressed’.

The group later walked out of the Guru Nanak Bhavan where the competition was being held.

“We were all dressed with dignity and there was no vulgarity, something which the judge questioned on stage. This is highly outrageous on the part of a judge to humiliate the participants by passing derogatory remarks against the team. Not only did it affect the morale of the participants, it left all of us humiliated,” rued students from KIMT.

However, Anjali Avasthi, director of the host institute, said that they did not invite the judge in question on stage to pass any remarks on the participants. “We admit the remarks were derogatory and should not have been said. But the judge was not invited to make any comments on the participants by us. We apologise to each and every participant who felt humiliated,” said Avasthi.

Earlier in the day, the whole atmosphere was surcharged with enthusiasm and gaiety. The festivities started with poster-making and on-the-spot-painting competitions in which a large number of students participated. Skits, plays, folk dances and western dances followed invoking an overwhelming response from the audience. In the western dance event, SIFT bagged the first position while the second and third positions were won by Arya College for Women and Khalsa Institute of Management and Technology.