By Waqar Hasan,
New Delhi, 24 Sep 2015: As news broke out about BJP leader Subramanian Swamy jumping into the race for the post of Vice Chancellor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday, students of the central university stood up on their feet protesting against any such move of the central government.
They said that if Swamy is appointed as VC, JNU will become another FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) where students are on indefinite hunger strike for the last couple of months against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman.
Vijay Kumar, a student leader in JNU, is thinking to hold a protest demonstration taking all students together if Swamy is appointed as VC of the university.
“See till now it is only a hearsay. If, not only Subramanian Swamy, whoever like Swamy comes as a Vice Chancellor to Jawaharlal Nehru University, we students will protest against him in democratic way. There is a discussion going on in the campus about him. The discussion is that we will not let him to come here. The reason is that appointing as VC a person whose ideology does not match with the university is not fair,” said Kumar, a PhD student.
Abhay Kumar thinks that Swamy is not the right person for VC post of JNU. He feels that it’s a plan of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party to impose fascist minds over all institutions in the country.
“He is not the right person for the post of Vice Chancellor of JNU. The reason is that JNU is based on idea of social justice, scientific temper and liberal thought but the ideology of Subramaniyam Swamy is Hindutva, anti-minority and anti-lower caste. I think his appointment will fuel anger and protest. And it will make JNU another FTII. Actually, it’s a plan of RSS and BJP to impose fascist all over institution of the country. JNU students will not tolerate it,” said Abhay Kumar, also a PhD student.
Meanwhile, Swamy has lashed out at his critic JNU students for opposing him as VC. He is not ready to consider for the post unless ‘anti-national’ students are rusticated.
“PTs are overwhelmingly against my accepting JNU VC post. No question of my considering unless allowed to rusticate anti- national students. I think JNU needs an Anti Narcotics Bureau campus branch office to raid dorms and arrest Naxals, jehadis and Elis. BSF camp also” He tweeted.
In December 2011, the Harvard University in the United States had dropped the course taught by Swamy allegedly over his controversial article in a newspaper. Swamy used to teach summer economic courses at Harvard.
