New Delhi: Hitting out at the central government for "militarising educational institutions" and implementing Citizenship Amendment Act, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union President Aeshe Ghosh on Tuesday said that the Home Minister and the centre must be "held accountable for the police action against peacefully protesting students".
"It is very important that the Home Minister in particular and the (central) government, in general, is held accountable. Police forces have entered campuses, a student was detained in Ahmedabad, in Tamil Nadu members of SFI have been detained while they were protesting, similar was the situation in Maharashtra.
Students across the country are fighting the militarization of educational campuses. The central government is trying its best to militarise campuses of educational institutions," said Ghosh while referring to the brutal police action on Jamia Milia Islamia students who were protesting peacefully against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
"I appeal to everyone not to make this a protest concerning JNU, AMU and Jamia only. It suits the government to restrict the dissent to these three universities and create Islamophobia," Ghosh alleged
"They will just say that we are always protesting. The fact is that almost all campuses have erupted against CAA. From Bengal to Northeast, Mumbai to Kerala and to Uttar Pradesh, everywhere students are protesting against the law," she told reporters.
Banaras Hindu University, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Jadavpur University, Lucknow's Integral University and Nadwa College were among the campuses where students staged protests on Monday. Students of IIM Bangalore also wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A government official has, however, maintained that the situation in 42 central universities in the country, except JMI and AMU, is peaceful and examinations are being held as scheduled.
There are 42 central universities in the country and only in a few, there were peaceful protests like candlelight march, the official said.
The reports of violence came only from two universities, JMI and AMU, he said.
Ghosh claimed that these protests in campuses "will continue if required, till this government lasts".
"The government is closing down colleges, shutting the internet and everything is unilateral. They won't listen to anyone. This government has been targeting educational institutions so that they want to ensure that people don't learn. If people don't learn, they cannot question," she alleged.
Ghosh said that what happened on Sunday in Jamia should make people in the entire city shudder.
"The students did not get violent. Under no circumstances should police enter a varsity campus and assault students. Today they entered Jamia, tomorrow will you justify police entering your homes because they wanted to catch some thieves?" she asked.
Hinting at a joint students protest against CAA as well as Delhi Police, Ghosh said that students from campuses across the capital are planning to come together against the two issues and hold a peaceful demonstration.
On Sunday, scores of people, including Jamia students and policemen, were injured, four DTC buses were set afire and over 100 private vehicles were damaged when protesters opposing the amended Citizenship Act turned violent and clashed with police near New Friends Colony.
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Police had used batons and tear gas shells to disperse the protesters and entered the Jamia campus where several people were detained.
