NEW DELHI: The Jawahar Lal University Students’ Union (JNUSU) silently protested by holding placards at the foundation stone laying event for a new tribute wall on Thursday. They claimed that instead of focusing on the issues concerning the student community, the university spends funds on organising other events.
The students’ union along with the student community has been sitting on an indefinite strike for the past four days, stated a member of the students’ union. It also alleged that the university administration has time and again spent crores on organising lavish events inside campus premises but has failed to speak about the demand for increasing scholarships.
The ‘bhumi pujan’ event was against the secular ethos of the university, cited the JNUSU in their statement. “We have seen how in the past few years there have been continuous efforts on the part of the administration to undermine the ethos of secularism and regional and linguistic diversity for which many of our freedom fighters and revolutionaries had fought valiant struggles,” said Aishe Ghosh, president, JNUSU.
The students’ union representatives have made several depositions to the V-Cs Office for an appointment and deliberation to discuss the pertinent issues within the campus premises. Until now, other than through the officer on special duty (OSD) no formal communication has come to regarding our demands.
Meanwhile, yesterday a group of university students alleged administration has decided to impose fines of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for participating in the protest. The administration also ‘banned’ them from registering for the next semester, alleged the students.