JNU Protests: JNUSU Office-Bearers Meet HRD Ministry-Appointed Committee

The meeting between Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) office-bearers and the high-power committee constituted by the HRD Ministry to restore normalcy on the campus is currently underway, sources said. The meeting commenced around 10.30 am and the students' union office-bearers are attending it along with the student councillors from different schools, they said.

The JNU students have been protesting for over three weeks against a draft hostel manual, which has provisions for hostel fee hike, dress code and curfew timings. The varsity's Executive Council (EC) had later announced a partial roll back in the fee but the students had dubbed it as an "eyewash". The EC had also removed provisions for curfew timings and dress code.

The committee will be meeting hostel presidents of the varsity in the later half of the day.

The HRD Ministry had on Monday constituted the three-member committee to recommend ways to restore normal functioning of the JNU. The panel includes former UGC chairman V S Chauhan, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe and UGC secretary Rajnish Jain.

Meanwhile, a forum of Jawaharlal Nehru University's visually challenged students tried to stage a protest outside police headquarters against the "lathicharge" on students protesting against hostel fee hike. Members of the JNU Visually Challenged Students Forum were going to Jai Singh Road to protest outside the new police headquarters.

However, they said, their bus was stopped and taken to Vasant Kunj police station.

Later, they said their bus was being brought to the old police headquarters at ITO. The forum had condemned the "police lathicharge" on visually challenged students during the protest on Monday over the hostel fee hike by the JNU administration and had demanded an apology from the police in the matter. Police had denied baton charging the students.