The students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday welcomed Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung’s statement of disapproving police action against students for alleged anti-national slogan shouting in the varsity campus. However, he suggested that they should have been engaged in dialogue. An independent researcher from JNU, Abdul Rehman, said, “I think he is trying to gradually distance himself from the BJP. He recently said something nice about the AAP government in Delhi as well. All this is a sign of reversal of his pro- BJP stance. Whatever he said, I feel it’s a sensible stand and it’s typical centrist position to take. But I think he should have said all this much before. He is right that Bharat Mata controversy is created and we should not fall into this trap.”
Another former JNU student, Pooja Lal, while praising the statement, said, “I welcome the statement personally. This is all the university stands for. Debate and discussion, including dissent and new ideas, is something which should be the hallmark of any university and in this light the statement of Mr Jung is praiseworthy.”
But there are some students who feel that the way the lieutenant-governor kept forward his views is just a way to deal with dissent.
Aakansha Natani, a Ph.D. student, said, “Whatever Mr Najeeb Jung said is actually the only way to deal with dissent. That you initiate a dialogue and counter argue and then defeat them with your ideas. Misuse of state machinery to suppress the voices of dissent reflects the fascist tendencies of the state.” Another student Lata Sarang, from the Hundred Flowers Group of JNU, said, “It is good that he is not supporting the police action but I would like Mr Jung to openly support the students and teachers’ struggle going on in JNU, HCU and other universities. Although we know he is a big time BJP supporter, but it is a good thing if he supports us at this time.”
