The students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will hold a protest at the university’s Dean of Students (DoS) office on Wednesday, January 17, to protest against the inordinate delay in the conduction of the JNU student union elections.
To recall, JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections have not been held for four years, since the academic year 2019-20. The existing student union has repeatedly demanded that JNU Vice-Chancellor Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and the Dean of Students to immediately conduct the JNUSU elections.
As informed by Anagha Pradeep, JNUSU Councillor, the student union met with university officials including rector, DoS and chief proctor today, on Monday, January 15, to discuss the issue.
“It seems like the administration does not have any concrete answer and they just want to delay the matter. Now, we have called upon all the students to join us for a protest on campus this Wednesday from 11 am onwards to pressurise the administration,” Anagha informed EdexLive.
It was further informed that the vice-chancellor did not meet the JNUSU delegation on Monday despite several appeals by the students.
Revoke COP manual, other demands
The union added that the officials also failed to give any satisfactory response regarding the revoking of (Chief Proctor Office) CPO Manual and unjust punishments against students.
As reported earlier, the JNU administration released a new CPO manual in effect from November 2023, under which a fine of up to Rs 20,000 can be imposed for protesting in prohibited areas on campus and Rs 10,000 for raising anti-national slogans, among other activities.
This was slammed by the students who claimed that it affects the students’ democratic rights by curbing protests on campus.
The JNUSU has demanded that the DoS immediately notify a timetable for campus elections. In addition to this, the students have also demanded the administration to revoke rustication orders and proctorial enquiries on students for protesting on campus.
Recently, JNU VC Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said in an interview with PTI that the university administration has not increased the slabs for fines in the (revised) CPO manual.
“Most of the fines mentioned in the manual are for incidents such as obstructing varsity officials from performing their duties or manhandling them or for drinking (alcohol) or for overspeeding on the campus," she said on the criticism received against the manual.
The VC also added that she withdrew all proctorial inquiries against students in the 2019 fee hike protest considering its impact on their careers.
EdexLive tried to reach out to the university for a comment on the matter. The copy will be updated once we receive a response
