Ex-soldiers threaten to return degrees over 'anti-national' activities in JNU

Left, JD(U) leaders meet Rajnath Singh demanding release of JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar.

Constrained over the ongoing 'anti-national' activities going on in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, ex-servicemen of 1978 batch of the National Defence Academy (NDA) have said that they are finding it difficult to be associated to the university and therefore they would return their degrees.

In a letter to the vice-chancellor of the university, ex-servicemen of the 54th NDA course said, "We the proud fraternity of ex-servicemen of the June 1978 Batch of National Defence Academy, who are proud recipient of the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts Degree from your esteemed University, are today constrained at the ongoing anti-national activities on your university campus like celebration of Afzal Guru day, and consider it an affront to be equated with the present student fraternity of the university which is indulging in such anti-national activities."

The ex-servicemen feel that the present activities in the JNU campus negate the sacrifices made by the past degree holders of the esteemed university.

"We, the proud, patriotic ex-servicemen of the 54th NDA course find it difficult to be associated to a university which has become a hub of anti-national activity, and would therefore be constrained to return our prized and well earned degrees to your esteemed institution if such activities are allowed to be conducted inside the University Campus," the letter added.

Meanwhile, expressing their dissent over the ongoing row, a delegation of Left parties on Saturday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and asked him to release Kanhaiya Kumar, the university's students' union president.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Sitaram Yechury, who led the Left delegation to the Home Minister, said that the actions taken by the police in the university, were even worse than what happened during the emergency

"We informed the Home Minister about the happenings inside the university. We told him that the kind of actions taken by him, dubbing the whole university as anti-national, is even worse than what happened during the emergency," Yechury said.

He also said that no one who would accept that JNU students are anti-national.

"We also presented our dissent that the RSS is trying to spread its ideology in all the universities of the country. He assured that no action would be taken against any person who is not guilty. Acknowledging his assurance we said that Kanhaiya Kumar, university's students' union president, should be immediately released," he added.

"The 20 people, who are being targeted and against whom the sedition charges are being slapped, are not seen raising slogans in the video. The list of those 20 people includes the name of D. Raja's daughter also. The Centre is just using this to interfere in higher educational institutions and spread the ideology of the RSS," he further said.

"It should be proved that they are at fault. It should be proved that these incidents actually happened. The university has no cameras, so where did the tape come from " he added.

Hours after Rajnath Singh and Human Resource and Development Minister Smriti Irani denounced the raising of alleged anti-India slogans in the JNU, the Delhi Police on Friday arrested Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy.

Kumar's arrest evoked strong reactions from JNU students and teachers, past and present, and Opposition parties even as the RSS's students wing ABVP 'thanked' police for arresting the 'anti-nationals'.

The arrest of Kumar, a member of the CPI's students wing AISF, was made a day after BJP MP from East Delhi, Maheish Girri, registered a complaint.

The alleged anti-India slogans were reportedly raised during a protest march on the campus on Tuesday against Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging.

The protest was staged even though the JNU administration had revoked permission following a complaint from the ABVP.