Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) march protest was stopped by Delhi Police at the JNU main gate on Thursday as students attempted to proceed towards the Ministry of Education. The march, described as a “Long March”, involves students walking from the university to the ministry to press their demands. The march, which began inside the campus, was halted amid tight security arrangements deployed around the university.
As per ABP News, the protest was earlier started at 2.30 PM from Sabarmati Hostel, with students moving towards the JNU main gate. Reportedly, they were stopped by the Delhi police at the JNU Main Gate.
According to the media reprots, JNUSU President Aditi Mishra has been detained by the Delhi Police. She said in a video statement that the JNUSU was going to march to the Ministry of Education to demand the resignation of the casteist VC, the Rohith Act and the accounting of the funds, but hundreds of policemen, with goons to help them, dragged them back to the bus.
Key Demands Raised By Students
According to the media reports, the students had organised their march to the Ministry of Human Resource Development to press four main demands:
1. The government restore the University Grants Commission equity regulations,
2. The implementation of the Rohith Act
3. Opposing the university funding cut
4. Tthe resignation of Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, JNU's vice-chancellor, who recently made derogatory remarks about Dalit and backward class mobilisations demanding their rights ("permanent victimhood").
According to ABP News reports, the Students' Union found the vice chancellor's comments about the University Grants Commission made during a 52-minute podcast to be objectionable. The union issued a statement urging the vice chancellor to resign, claiming that such statements undermine the university's dignity.
It further said that the comment that perpetual victimhood or claiming victimhood cannot lead to progress. The Union alleges that this comment ignores the realities of social injustice and exclusion in universities and public spaces.
What did the vice chancellor say?
The vice chancellor has also responded, stating that her statement had been taken out of context. She added that she had not spoken against any particular community and that she herself comes from a backward class background.
