NEW DELHI: On the 16th day of a hunger strike by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), the varsity administration on Monday issued an official statement denying approval to any in-house JNU entrance exam. However some of the demands were accepted, said a senior JNU official.
According to the students’ body, the ministry of Education by the JNUSU, Rector-I of the university, Brijesh Kumar Pandey, on August 23, assured the students that the university would accept some of their demands.
However, the JNU issued a statement on Monday, which said, “JNUSU was insisting that administration must fulfill at least two out of their demands listed. However the administration agreed to more like opening of PSR gate, notifications to centres to hold student faculty elections, request to UGC and Ministry of Education to increase funds for students scholarships, caste and gender sensitization workshops across campus.”
Responding to one of the demands of conducting a caste census, the varsity stated, “The data related to caste regarding the categories in which students have been admitted is already available on our website. So that is not an issue.”
Despite these developments, the union continued its protest, with President Dhananjay and Councillor Nitish Kumar remaining on hunger strike, which entered its 16th day on Monday. They are demanding written confirmation of the agreed-upon demands.
The hunger strike had started on August 11. The JNUSU called for a relay hunger strike to press their demands.