JNU Violence: Anger Grows Against Vice-Chancellor, Teachers Demand His Removal

A day after violence broke out in the university, Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking removal of M Jagadesh Kumar from the post of Vice-Chancellor. 

In an open letter, the JNUTA said that with full sense of responsibility, it accused the JNU administration headed by the Vice-Chancellor of being responsible for the violence. 

“It is evident that without the connivance of the administration, the entry into the campus of several of the goons who were not from the campus, and their subsequent exit without being caught, would not have been possible,” the letter read.  

It further went on to say that the absence of any action for several hours by the security or the police to stop the violence also reveals the complicity of the administration.  

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In a statement after the violence, the JNU administration had said, “it is unfortunate that a group of students with their violent means of protests are preventing thousands of non-agitating students from pursuing their academic activities.” The university administration said the violence was triggered by students opposing the semester registration, according to NDTV . 

Kumar also tweeted on Monday that the “origin of the present situation in JNU lies in some agitating students turning violent and obstructing the academic activities of a large number of non-protesting students”.    

JNUTA also said that the JNU administration’s description of the events on Sunday, “in which the sole culprits are the students agitating against the fee hike, lets the cat out of the bag”.   

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union had also accused the Vice-Chancellor of perpetrating violence in the university and demanded his ouster. “M Jagadesh Kumar is behaving like a mobster who perpetuates violence in the university he is supposed to administer,” the JNUSU said in a statement, according to Hindustan Times .

The Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers Associations has also demanded the immediate removal of the Vice-Chancellor. A statement from the federation, published by The Telegraph , read, “The violence that has gone on now for two days and continued unabated for several hours today is a brazen attempt by the administration to terrorise the students and teachers who have bravely put up an unwavering fight to defend the university.”

(With PTI inputs)