After an entire day of physical altercation with the Delhi Police and boxing the HRD Minister inside the AICTE office during their intense protest, the Jawaharlal Nehru University students were in no way ready to let the protest die down or have their demands ignored. The students said that they will continue their protest from November 13 with the same fervour, as Tuesday (November 12) is an administrative holiday. November 12 is also Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Students from JNU said they are deliberating over (protesting) tomorrow as it's a holiday today. As of now, they have no plans for. However, they won't back down until their demands are met.
The All India Students' Association (AISA) has also appealed to students across the country to observe National Protest Day in support of the JNU students on November 14, condemning the brutal attack by the Delhi Police and Paramilitary forces on JNU students on Monday. The students were protesting outside the All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) demanding that their Vice-Chancellor meet them and roll-back the 99 per cent fee hike introduced through the draft hostel manual.
N Sai Balaji, the AISA National President said, "We salute the students of JNU who have been protesting against the draconian new hostel manual for the past 15 days. Police crackdown was unleashed on the students. They were lathi-charged and water cannon was also unleashed on the students in which many have sustained injuries. The attack on educational institutions including JNU has been a set agenda in the Modi-Shah regime, with focused targetting on all voices of dissent. We urge the student community to stand in solidarity with the JNU students and observe National Protest Day on November 14."
The students, who have been protesting against the proposed fee hike and the Draft Hostel Manual, had marched to the AICTE Auditorium at 8 am on November 11 where the third convocation was going on. Protesting students said that they were met with barricades and a huge police force along with a CRPF battalion who were mobilising water canons and tear gases. They left from in front of the AICTE building at around 6 pm after the day-long protest. Several students were physically injured and are currently recovering from the police lathi-charge that took place on Monday.
The VC, with whom the students have demanded to meet for the past two weeks, allegedly, left with the MHRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' after the union minister told the students that he will look into the matter.
