New Delhi   

JNUSU strike continues

Staff Reporter

V-C accused of “distorting” facts relating to the agitation

NEW DELHI: Reacting to Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor B. B. Bhattacharya’s comments at a press conference here on Tuesday, the JNU Students’ Union has accused him of trying to “distort” facts relating to its ongoing agitation.

Even as the students’ indefinite hunger strike entered its fifth day on Wednesday, JNUSU once again claimed that the administration’s action of rusticating students was a “revenge” and not “punishment” for illegal confinement of Registrar Avais Ahmad in his staff car for more than six hours on February 19.

On the issue of Proctorial inquiry into the matter, JNUSU president Dhananjay Tripathi said: “The gherao of the Registrar was an unfortunate aberration. Ten students were initially suspended by the administration. The JNUSU rejected the inquiry by the Proctorial board as a means to resolve the impasse. Accepting our position, the administration constituted a three-member committee of professors to deal with the matter. Six students gave individual letters of regret to this committee on February 28 reiterating the JNUSU Council’s resolution. Based on this, their suspensions were withdrawn on March 7.”

“A University General Body Meeting the next day also endorsed the expression of regret,” he said, adding, “Subsequently the remaining suspended students also gave individual letters of regret after which the committee recommended withdrawal of all suspensions, which was done on March 16. The fact that the administration chose to ignore this entire process and persist with the Proctorial inquiry exposes their confrontationist attitude.”

JNUSU has also alleged that the administration was using the February 19 incident to avoid a dialogue on its long pending charter of demands that deals with several “important” issues.

On the issue of Merit-cum-Means scholarship for B.A. /M.A. students, Dhananjay said: “Last year after our prolonged agitation, the administration agreed to increase the MCM scholarship for B.A./M.A. and M. Phil./Ph.D. students to Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,500 per month, respectively. We have been demanding that with additional funds coming from the University Grants Commission now, the MCM for B.A./ M.A. students must definitely be increased to Rs. 1,500 per month. We also want that the cut-off date for the disbursal of M. Phil. and Ph. D. fellowships must be fixed at 2005 instead of April 2007 as declared by the administration.”

The Union claimed that it was “no coincidence” that within 24 hours of calling for a protest demonstration on this issue, the administration issued orders of disciplinary action against students even though Prof. Bhattacharya was not in the country.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Joining hands for the marvel in marble
Mumbai fugitive gets bail
Defence counsel taken to task
JNUSU strike continues
DU third cut-off list holds out little hope
cinema
Inside cloudy Delhi
Ministers inspect torched schools
in the capital today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu