Amid drama, JNU V-C walks out of Academic Council meet

According to the university, the V-C was also heckled by some students

New resolve:The meeting was called to discuss issues related to the ongoing hunger strike on the campus and demands of students. —File Photo

: In what Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students are terming “unprecedented” in the history of the university, the Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday walked out of a “peaceful” Academic Council (AC) meeting where issues related to the ongoing strike and demands of students were being discussed.

The administration later issued a statement saying that the meeting was not allowed to proceed by “a group of teachers and their student supporters who from the very beginning pressed their demand to discuss an issue that was not part of the agenda”.

The AC is the statutory decision-making body of the university, and this was the first meeting of V-C M. Jagadesh Kumar ever since he took charge in January.

The statement also described the behaviour of those who cut short the meeting as “unruly”.

“The behaviour of these teachers was unruly as they collectively shouted at the chair and sought to force upon him to begin the meeting with their item as agenda number one,” read the statement. The statement added that the teachers “forced” the V-C to leave the meeting and that when he was leaving the venue, he was heckled by some students. After the meeting, the JNU administration issued a statement appealing to students to “use peaceful means to resolve issues rather than resorting to violent methods”.

Students denied entry

JNU Students’ Union had also called for a protest outside the School of Social Sciences, where the meeting was being held. After addressing a student gathering, when the JNUSU office-bearers tried to enter the building to attend the meeting, they were allegedly stopped. While JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid Shora alleged that she and JNUSU general secretary Rama Naga were initially not allowed entry despite being invited to the meeting, the university officials denied it.

The students and teachers wanted the V-C to listen to their demands in connection with the High-Level Enquiry Committee (HLEC) report and come to a conclusion in the matter. A group of students, including Rama Naga, have been on a hunger strike for the last 13 days to protest the punishments meted out to students in connection with the February 9 incident.

‘V-C governed by the RSS’

“I have seen several negotiations with the administration. I have seen the previous JNUSU president talking very aggressively to the previous V-C on the issue of hostels. But the previous V-C handled it calmly by having a conversation with students. It has now become clear that the V-C is a puppet whose strings are pulled by the RSS,” said Shehla Rashid.

The administration has also formed a committee to negotiate with the students on persuading them to end the hunger strike. According to university sources, the teachers are also planning to pass a no-confidence motion against the V-C.