Shiv Sena's Saamana supports JNU protest, claims 'right-wing' BJP politicising issue

Lashing out at the BJP government at the Centre, Shiv Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Thursday, condemned the alleged lathi charge of JNU students during their protests on Monday, stating that such protests in front of the parliament are routine. The article titled 'Suppression in the streets of Delhi', Saamana compares the JNU students' protest against hostel fee hike to the famous Lokpal protest spearheaded by Anna Hazare against the UPA administration's corruption. It further questions what were the demands of the students and the what has the government done to fulfill it.

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Saamana supports JNU protest

Supporting the protesting students' fight for a complete rollback of fee hike, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece asks how could the Delhi police suppress the protests of middle-class and poor students' rights to affordable education. Slamming the BJP for politicising the situation, it further states that the Centre was taking this opportunity to stifle the students as their student wing ABVP could not take control of JNU. Saamana also stated that JNU had been termed as 'naxalvaadi' by 'right-wingers', adding that JNU had produced Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, but no good 'right-wing' politicians. Sena is the latest to join in supporting the students after Congress, BSP, CPI (M). 

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Monday's protest

Earlier on Monday, hundreds of JNU students took to the streets to march to the Parliament, demanding a full rollback of the hostel fees. Flouting section 144 applied in JNU, students marched towards the parliament where the Winter Session had commenced. Over 1400 Police personnel who were deployed stopped agitating students and around 100 students had been detained for showing ‘'aggressive defiance”. In the evening, the police forcibly removed the JNU student protesters, who had brought civic life and traffic to a standstill. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Human Resource Development set up a high-power committee to resolve the issues of the JNU students via dialogue. Sources report the JNU administration has agreed to some of the demands of the students, as protests still continue in two separate phases - ABVP and Left-wing students.

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FIR filed

Delhi Police has lodged an FIR for 'defacement of public property' at Jawaharlal Nehru University, naming 10 students who had defaced the campus and desecrated the soon-to-be-unveiled statue of Swami Vivekananda. The Delhi police have also filed 2 FIRs against the students who they claim clashed with cops and created ruckus near Safdargunj Tomb area and Jor Bagh area in Delhi. JNU administration has announced a partial rollback the hostel fees -   a 50% concession in hostel fee rates for students belonging to the Below Poverty line (BPL) urging students to go back to classes, as students continue to protest.

READ |Delhi Police files 2 FIRs against JNU students who clashed with cops during protest march

Why are the students protesting?

The students' union has been on a strike against the Draft Hostel Manual which was approved by the Inter-Hall Administration. They claim that the manual has provisions for fee hike, curfew timings and dress code restrictions for students. They have said they will not end the strike till the Hostel Manual is withdrawn. It is said that after the fee hike is implemented, JNU will be the most expensive Central University.