JNU attack: Murli Manohar Joshi said the Vice Chancellor's attitude was "deplorable".
The students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) received support from unlikely quarters today, with senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi demanding the removal of its Vice Chancellor for not coming up with a "reasonable and working" solution to the fee hike row.
"Reports are that the HRD ministry had twice advised the JNU, VC to implement certain reasonable and working formulae for resolving the issue of enhanced fees in JNU. He was also advised to reach out to its teachers and students. It is shocking that the VC is adamant in not implementing the government proposal. This attitude is deplorable and, in my opinion, such a VC should not be allowed to continue in this post," the former Union Minister tweeted.
Mr Joshi's remarks came minutes after an attempt by JNU students, faculty members and civil society groups to take out a massive protest march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi culminating in a stand-off with the police. Footage of the incident showed slogan-shouting students being pushed into buses by police personnel as they tried to go past them.
They were protesting against an attack on the JNU campus by a group of 60-100 masked assailants on Sunday evening, which resulted in injuries to over 30 students and faculty members. The protesters allege that the attack was carried out by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in connivance with Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, and have demanded that he be removed from the position with immediate effect.
The Delhi Police, who are accused of doing little to rescue students at the time, are yet to arrest any of the attackers. They have instead lodged cases against JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh, who was also injured in the incident, on the basis of a complaint lodged by the institution administration.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has stood by Jagadesh Kumar so far, saying that the solution to the problem lies not in sacking him but addressing the core issues on the campus. Ministry officials had yesterday advised the JNU Vice Chancellor to open communication channels with students and take faculty members into confidence.
The Vice Chancellor has assured the centre that the JNU administration is taking steps to bring things back to normal on the campus and facilitate semester registration for "willing" students.
Mr Joshi was once a prominent leader of the BJP, even occupying the post of its national president. He was not given a party ticket in the last Lok Sabha elections.