NEW DELHI: A day after Delhi Police filed an FIR against three Congress MPs for trespassing on the Jamia campus, Congress MP Imran Masood criticised the university administration, while senior party leader KC Venugopal expressed solidarity with students demanding the revival of the university's students' union.
Masood questioned the appointment of the university's registrar, Prof. Mohammad Mahtab Alam Rizvi, and accused the administration of mishandling the situation. He alleged that the registrar was responsible for escalating tensions on campus and called for an investigation into the matter.
“What are they trying to show to the country? This registrar is the culprit. He was behind all those contradictory writings on the wall. An FIR is pending against him. I will go to court and raise this question in Parliament as well. ‘Hamara varsity mein jaana gunah ho gaya'.” Masood said.
The Congress MP also expressed concern over reports of students facing food shortages and criticised Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif for allegedly failing to address their grievances. Rejecting allegations of trespassing, Masood maintained that Jamia is a public institution and said FIRs would not deter political leaders from raising concerns about student welfare.
According to Delhi Police, a complaint was received on October 24 from Registrar Rizvi, alleging that outsiders had entered the campus during a student protest that began on October 12. The complaint claimed that certain individuals had interfered with the university's functioning and occupied and locked the Department of Political Science building on October 24, disrupting academic activities.
The administration also alleged that political leaders had entered the campus without authorisation. It claimed that Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi entered the campus on October 21 after breaking the lock of Gate No. 4A, while Masood allegedly scaled a boundary wall near Gafoor Nagar with the help of ladders on October 23. Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi was reportedly detained while on his way to the campus.
The complaint further alleged that outsiders had been brought onto the premises, university walls had been defaced with objectionable graffiti, property had been damaged and employees had been manhandled, resulting in injuries. A case was registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and laws concerning defacement and damage to public property.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal took to social media to express support for the protesting students, who he said had been on hunger strike for 16 days demanding the revival of their students' union.
Venugopal alleged that the administration had cut electricity and water supplies and shifted classes online, bringing academic activities to a standstill. He accused the authorities of adopting a heavy-handed approach and urged them to accept the students' demands, describing the dispute as a question of democratic rights.