There is a demand that those raising such slogans should be suspended or expelled.
Jawaharlal Nehru University students are demanding stricter regulations against anti-national slogans on campus. Dissatisfaction lingers regarding the recently introduced CPO Manuel rules at JNU, which impose fines of Rs 10,000 for voicing “anti-national” slogans and Rs 20,000 for protesting in restricted zones. Criticism has emerged from various student bodies at the university, such as ABVP, NSUI, and SFI, protesting against these regulations. They urge the administration to retract these rules, seen as suppressing students’ rights to protest within the university premises. The new guidelines specifically prohibit protests within approximately 100 meters of academic buildings, including their entrances and exits.
Speaking on the issue with The Sunday Guardian, ABVP JNU president Umesh Chandra Ajmira said that the university should take strict action against those raising anti-national slogans or who are found to indulge in anti-national activities, including suspension or cancellation of their admission. While the administration has made provisions for punishment in other such protests, in the case of anti-national slogans, a fine of Rs 10,000 is the only punishment. Chandra added that the ABVP will soon be giving the VC a letter and will request that she take strict action if anyone is found to raise in anti-national slogans.
Ambuj Mishra, a PhD scholar at JNU, said that elements that indulge in anti-national activities or support such people should not be allowed to remain on campus: “While universities should inculcate the idea of patriotism in their students, our university is merely imposing a fine, which ideally should not be done. If these rules are strictly followed in the protests being held at the university, then the demands of students can reach the administration, and they can resolve them. The anti-national elements’ presence in the protest not only hampers the university’s reputation, but the core demands of the students are never heard, and the protests became only a puppet of the political parties. Ideally, student organisations should work for student welfare, but the JNUSU works for a particular political party.”
The protests against the new CPO Manual rules are being done regularly by various student organisations, and on the protests, JNU officials said that the protests have not been banned on the university campus but are only allowed at designated places.