Academic activities set to resume at JNU

Under fire from the HRD Ministry, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Saturday reached out to a section of the varsity students but appeared to have ignored the Students Union President Aishe Ghosh and other office-bearers.

JNU administration also announced that classes and other academic activities in all schools and special centres would resume from Monday and asked students to return on time to pursue their studies and research.

The varsity also ordered a security audit of the hostels, as directed by the Delhi Police, to check for stay of any outsiders/unauthorised students, guests inside the hostels and initiate action against the resident students.

The blame game between the Delhi Police and JNU Students Union over Ghosh's alleged involvement in the ruckus at the university on Sunday continued.

Addressing a press conference here, JNUSU vice president Saket Moon said that the JNUSU had informed the Delhi Police about the presence of masked men on the campus much before the violence broke out.

“They were informed at 3 pm and the messages were read at 3.07 pm but the messages were ignored,” Moon claimed, alleging that the Delhi Police were categorically singled out Ghosh.

Asked about the Vice Chancellor's meeting with the students, Ghosh said the JNUSU was not informed about the meeting and she got to know about it when she was at the AIIMS for treatment of her head injury suffered in Sunday's attack.

The JNUSU alleged that the RSS-affiliated ABVP was involved in attacking women students and JNUSU office-bearers last week.

“Attackers targeted specific rooms in Sabarmati Hostel and even threw students from the balcony, but did not touch the room of an ABVP activist,” the JNUSU claimed.

Meanwhile, the JNUSU President Ghosh met Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan who expressed solidarity with the cause of the students.

“Comrade Pinarayi has said go ahead and that is the inspiration I take and we will take this fight ahead,” said Ghosh, who belongs to the Students' Federation of India, the students' wing of the CPI(M).