'Cannot allow it to become space for hatred': JNU vows strict action over slogans on campus against Modi, Shah

An FIR has already been lodged, it said.

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday vowed the strictest action against students who raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a protest held to denounce the January 2020 campus violence.

In a post on X, the university said, "An FIR has already been lodged in connection with the incident. The administration has vowed the strictest action against students found raising objectionable slogans against the Prime Minister and the Home Minister." The varsity said that while freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right, universities are centres of learning and innovation and cannot be allowed to become spaces for hatred.

Any form of violence, unlawful conduct or activities that undermine national unity would not be tolerated, it asserted.

The administration said students involved in the incident would face disciplinary action, which could include immediate suspension, expulsion, or permanent debarment.

On Monday night, a group of students raised slogans against Modi and Shah on the JNU campus during a protest that was held hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, both ex-JNU students, in the 2020 riots conspiracy case.

According to a video, purportedly of the protest, students raised slogans criticising the prime minister and the home minister.

The event -- A Night of Resistance with Guerrilla Dhaba -- was organised at Sabarmati Dhaba to mark the January 5, 2020, violence in which a mob of masked people entered the campus and attacked students and teachers with sticks and rods.