Five days after it issued show-cause notices to students for allegedly being involved in ‘unlawful’ activities, the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) administration on Tuesday sent corrective letters to them stating that the dates of the incidents that took place were May 12 and 13, and not May 13 and 14, as mentioned in the notices.
MANUU Proctor M. A. Azeem’s June 14 states that the date of the incidents, for which some students were issued show-cause notices, are May 12 and 13, and not May 13 and 14. The notice on June 9 stated that the students who had protested then had allegedly used abusive language, raised “derogatory” slogans against the varsity, misbehaved with faculty members, caused physical and emotional stress to “government servants under siege”.
“Students were served notices for asking for their rights. The MANUU Vice-Chancellor (VC) is toeing the line of the MHRD. The fact that they got the dates wrong is insincerity on their part,” alleged Mohit Pandey, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and national vice-president, All India Students Association (AISA).
Addressing a press conference along with the JNU Student Union’s (JNUSU) Councillor N. Sai Balaji, Mohit claimed that some of the students who received the notices, were not present in the campus on the day of the protests or were attending seminars. “One of the students from the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy was in a seminar, which was acknowledged by his professor,” he added.
“It was an error on our part. We are not against any protests by students and are not targeting anyone. But we sought an explanation from those who were involved in unlawful activities. On June 12, the incident started at 12 noon and continued till 3 a.m. And the same day, it (protests) began again at 3 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m.,” said Mr. Azeem when contacted.
The Proctor stated that the students were issued show-cause notices based on evidence. “Those who claim that they were not in campus on the day of the protests can prove it,” he added.
