NSUI denied nod for event on Nehru’s birth anniversary at JNU

NEWDELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration on Wednesday denied permission to the members of Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) for holding a programme in front of the statue of Jawaharlal Nehru situated at the university’s administrative building.the permission was denied citing last year’s Delhi High Court order that prohibits any gathering within 100 metres of the administrative building.

Taking suo motu cognizance of a Facebook post about the event that was organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister, after whom the university is named, JNU registrar Pramod Kumar issued a notice to the organisers two hours before the event.

“It has come to the notice of administration that a programme, ‘Nehru: Kya sach, kya jhoot”, being organised at administrative block on November 14, 2018, at 4pm and you are one of the speaker at the programme. You are requested not to address at the venue as it falls in the close vicinity of the administrative block that is a prohibited area within the University for holding such activity,” Kumar said in the notice.

The NSUI members said they have been organising the event for the last three years. However, this is the first time such an objection was raised. “We only wanted to hold a Facebook live where a DU professor was to address students on Nehru’s legacy. However, the administration denied the permission on flimsy grounds,” Sunny Dhiman, a member of NSUI in JNU, said.

Kumar said the administration only denied permission in the area where such activities are prohibited. “The students were allowed to hold it anywhere in the university, except within 100 metres of the administrative building,” he said.