Editor’s Note: Since February when some students were charged with sedition, Jawaharlal Nehru University has been in the news for one controversy or the other. In a latest, the JNU administration has not included popular student activists associated with the said incident in the voting lists for the upcoming JNUSU election. Rama Naga, the former General Secretary of the JNUSU, in a post on Facebook, wrote about how in his opinion, the Administration, especially the new VC, have been going out of their way to harass students associated with the event.
Read the post here:
[su_box title=” “]
Now, the JNU administration has blocked our names from participating in the JNUSU election process. It has been creating hurdles at every stage to harass students on the pretext of the 9th Feb incident. Starting from creating problems in our registration, till the submissions of MPhil/PhD and now it has directed not to include our names in the voting lists for the upcoming JNUSU election.
When the voter lists were put up today by the Election Commission of JNU, we found that our names are not included in the list. There is a provision in JNU that, if there is a problem in the voting lists, then a student can write a letter to the School AO, and that letter is forwarder to the EC to correct the problem in the lists. When we went to the Office of the SSS AO and checked in the school office, we were told that your names are not included in the voting list because of the “fine pending at the chief proctor office”.
We went to the Chief Proctor Office and got to know that our names are once again blocked by the administration regarding the 9th Feb incident. The fines which were imposed by the administration are yet to be paid by the students. The JNU administration has constantly been harassing students on the pretext of the 9th Feb incident. It’s own office order dated- 23 Aug, 2016, which says that “the office order will be effective after 15 days of receipt of this order”. The 15 days are yet to be completed. The last verdict by the court in case of the HLEC says, students can come to the court if they feel dissatisfied with the decisions by the appellate authority. But our Vice Chancellor and JNU administration do not understand the legal language. They only understand the language to take revenge against the students. That’s why, they are forcing the students every time to move to the court.
The administration has been creating hurdles in our academic activities for the last 6 months. After the 9th Feb incident, it suspended us from the academic activities without listening a single word from us. The academic debarment continued till the enquiry was going on. When the enquiry was over, it did not finish the debarment. The academic suspension remained in function as before. Com Shweta Raj and I were denied from availing our fellowships for months. During the time of our registration, it did not allow us to register even if there was a direction from the court that the VC (as the appellate authority) has to listen to students before taking actions on them. We were not allowed to submit our dissertation. Com Chintu Kumari was not permitted to take her M.Phil degree. Com Reyaz was not allowed take his original mark sheet to do his admission in JNU, even after being qualified in the JNU entrance.
The new VC has taken the students of JNU as its prime enemy and JNU as a battle ground. He has taken the pledge to take revenge against all the students and teachers who were not with his command. His top most task is not to save JNU but to shut down JNU. Now, he wants the JNU politics to be controlled by his finger point. That’s why he has directed the proctor office to not to let the students participate in the students union election process. The fundamental right of the students to cast their votes are curtailed by the VC and it’s administration.
The VC in nexus with the ABVP has been trying to influence the JNUSU election this year. All these moves are part of the grand conspiracy. The conspiracy to keep the leading activists of the campus out the election process, not letting them to even cast their votes. The VC has given 15 days time to pay the fines, which is just before the JNUSU election to take place. If students would fail to pay the fine before the 15 days to get over, they will be thrown out from the campus. Their studentship will be cancelled and they will not be to be part of the crucial students’ union election.
But one simple thing, which I want to convey to our dear Vice Chancellor. You can keep few students out from casting their votes but you must keep in mind that, the entire campus is going to vote against you and the ABVP this time. They are going to give mandate to challenge you throughout the year. We will not let you to impact the election process. We will not let you to take our JNUSU platform to make it as the platform of right-wing. JNUSU will remain on the hands of the powerful students community of JNU, who will challenge you till the time you remain as the VC of the campus. You are running shut down JNU phase 2. We will fight the final battle to save JNU.[/su_box]