The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration on Tuesday vowed “strictest action” against students accused of raising “provocative and objectionable” slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah during a campus protest, even as student representatives disputed the university’s claims and defended the slogans as ideological dissent.
In a statement posted on X, the JNU administration said an FIR had already been lodged and warned that the university could not be allowed to turn into what it called “laboratories of hate.”
While acknowledging that freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right, the administration asserted that “violence, unlawful conduct or anti-national activity” would not be tolerated, adding that those found responsible could face suspension, expulsion or permanent debarment.
The protest was part of an event -- "A Night of Resistance with Guerrilla Dhaba" -- organised at Sabarmati Dhaba to mark the anniversary of the January 5, 2020, violence in which a group of people, allegedly associated with right wing outfits, had entered the campus and unleashed mayhem by attacking students and teachers.
In a letter to the Delhi Police, the university claimed that certain students raised slogans that were “highly objectionable, provocative and inflammatory,” arguing that they amounted to a wilful disrespect for constitutional institutions and democratic norms, and were in contempt of the Supreme Court.
The administration further alleged that the slogans were deliberate, repeated, and carried the potential to disrupt campus harmony and public order.
The university named several students in its complaint, including JNU Students’ Union president Aditi Mishra, stating that they were identified during the programme.
Aditi Mishra, however, rejected the administration’s characterisation of the protest. Speaking to PTI, she said that the slogans raised were ideological in nature and did not target any individual. “They were not directed towards anyone personally,” she said.
(With inputs from PTI)