Our protest is for affordable education, not just for JNU, say JNUSU 

The Jawaharlal Nehru Students' Union (JNUSU) demanded on Tuesday that no administrative or legal action be taken against the students protesting against a hostel fee hike.

JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said they had a meeting with the Joint Secretary of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, GC Hosur, and requested him to ensure no administrative action against students.

"Students have been getting notices through e-mail for these protests. But these protests are for a just cause and no student will pay even a single-rupee fine," she told reporters .

The students' union alleged that the registrar of the university refused to meet the members of the HRD Ministry-appointed panel for mediating between the agitating students and the administration and recommending ways to restore the normal functioning of the varsity.

The JNUSU, which has been leading the agitation against a hostel fee hike for three weeks, said the strike would not be called off until their demands were met.

"We have got to know that the registrar refused to meet the HRD Ministry-appointed panel to mediate between us and the university. See their high-handedness. When they can refuse to entertain government representatives, how can they be expected to talk to us," JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh told reporters.

There was no immediate response from the registrar or the university administration on the JNUSU allegation.

"The strike will continue till our demands are met and the fee hike is completely rolled back," Ghosh asserted.

Aishe Ghosh also spoke about what happened during Monday’s march. Ghosh said all representatives of JNUSU were tactfully separated so that neither could meet during the protest.

“I was detained at Delhi Cantonment. There was a girl in my bus who was severely injured but the policemen refused to stop and get her any help. After the students were released, we were all separated so we could not join and continue the protest.”

JNUSU’s general secretary, Satish Chandra Yadav said that their struggle is not just for JNU students but is for all.

“Those who are being excluded are the poor, children of farmers and daily-wage labourers... We are trying to prevent it from happening. We want the students to be able to enroll themselves to the top institutes, but this government is working against it,” he added.