JJP gives Saini govt 5-day ultimatum
Gurugram: Twelve days after a protest at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology turned into an FIR, arrests, and mass student suspensions, the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) Monday brought its grievances to Hisar’s Krantiman Park.
The ‘Chhatra Hit Mahapanchayat’, addressed by former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and his brother and JJP youth wing state president Digvijay Chautala, gave the Nayab Singh Saini-led Haryana government five days to respond to a list of demands, failing which, the party warned, it would escalate its agitation.
Independent Purnia MP Pappu Yadav, who attended the mahapanchayat, declared his solidarity with the JJP, saying Ajay Chautala was like a brother to him.
The gathering resolved to form a 21-member committee that will meet the Hisar Divisional Commissioner and the ADGP to put the students’ case before the administration.
The mahapanchayat called for immediate reinstatement of all students suspended by the GJU administration, withdrawal of cases registered against students in both Hisar and Kurukshetra, and permission for all student organisations to hold programmes on university campuses. It also demanded the constitution of a Fee Regulatory Board to control education fees across the state, establishment of activity centres for students, quality inspection of mess food, and formation of an SIT to conduct an impartial inquiry into the clash between police and students.
The dispute traces back to April 15, when the JJP held a demonstration outside the GJU Vice Chancellor’s office after being denied permission to hold a programme on campus.
FIRs were registered against Digvijay and seven others for alleged vandalism; six were arrested and granted bail the next day. On 17 April, when Dushyant was on his way to surrender, a roadside confrontation with Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in-charge Pawan Kumar added another layer to the controversy. Dushyant alleged his convoy was stopped and threatened, while the officer maintained he had intervened over reckless driving by an escort vehicle.
An SIT formed to investigate the episode has completed its report, and sources say Pawan Kumar has been given a clean chit.
At the mahapanchayat, Digvijay, whose own FIR was at the centre of the original dispute, mounted an attack on the state of state universities.
“On 16 April, cases were registered against students over broken flower pots, and a raid was conducted at 2 in the morning with complete barbarity,” he said. “The next day, all students who participated in the demonstration were rusticated. Is the university only for RSS, ABVP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and events like Geeta Jayanti?”
He accused the BJP of using the university to promote RSS ideology.
The five-day ultimatum the mahapanchayat has given the government expires on Friday.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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