Jagadesh Kumar has been facing intense criticism for not doing enough during last week's mob attack.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, who has been facing intense criticism for not doing enough during last week's mob attack at the prestigious university, on Wednesday questioned the support extended by "prominent people" to campus protests across the country. He did not name actor Deepika Padukone, whose visit to JNU to stand in solidarity with protesters against a masked mob attack on Sunday has fueled a divisive debate.
"I would like to ask all those great personalities coming to support agitators, what about thousands of students and teachers who are deprived of their rights of doing research and teaching? Why can't you stand with them," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Deepika Padukone on Monday evening visited JNU and met injured students and faculty members injured in Sunday night's violence. Although the Padmaavat star did not speak at the university, she was seen interacting with JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh, who was injured in the attack.
"I feel proud that we are not scared of expressing ourselves. It (is good) that we are thinking of our country and its future," she told NDTV, a day before visiting the university.
Actor Deepika Padukone visited Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday.
Classes in the prestigious university in south-west Delhi have been suspended since the attack by armed, masked people which left over 30 people injured.
Many rose in support of the JNU students in the days that followed. The country-wide demonstrations in solidarity with those injured in the attack also featured other Bollywood personalities such as Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonam Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap and Richa Chadha condemning the incident in the strongest possible terms.
There are still no arrests after a group of masked people armed with sticks and iron rods attacked students and teachers for hours, unleashing chaos and fear on the campus. JNU students have blamed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a students' union linked to the ruling BJP, for the attack. ABVP has in turn pointed at Left-backed student groups.