JNU claims penalty on strikes and protests not new

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University clarified on Tuesday that protests are allowed on campus but only at designated places. The statement comes a day after the university faced staunch criticism over its strict measures against strikes and dharnas, PTI reported.

The university had issued a revised Chief Proctor Office (CPO) manual in which it stated that putting up wall posters and staging dharnas within 100 metres of the institute's academic buildings can lead to a fine of up to Rs 20,000 or expulsion. Also, any anti-national act will attract a Rs 10,000 fine, it said.

An official who gave out the clarification claimed that the Rs 2,000 fine for holding protests in prohibited areas of the campus is an old rule and not a new one approved unanimously by the university's executive council (EC) last month.

"We have not changed anything. These rules were already there in place. We have just introduced a few other regulations to ensure no disruption is caused to the academic process. Students still have the democratic right to protest at designated places," the official told PTI.

The students' union had reacted, "The stringent measures outlined in the manual are aimed at stifling the vibrant campus culture that has defined JNU for decades. The JNUSU demands that the university administration immediately revoke the new manual of the office of the Chief Proctor Manual."

Student bodies at the university have condemned the move, saying that it snatches away the democratic right of students to register dissent.

Following the EC's nod to the manual, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh was fined ₹ 10,000 for "forcibly pushing open the locked door of the Teflas Students' Union Office" on March 2 and given a warning not to repeat such an act.