JNUSU elections: Differently-abled students stage hunger strike against ABVP candidate

The remark was made by Ajmeera in response to a question asked by another candidate during the session of the presidential debate.Condemning the statement, the JNUSU Election Committee later in the day noted that the remark was not an anti-disability comment.The EC has not registered our protest.

Some differently-abled students staged a hunger strike at the Jawaharlal Nehru University against an alleged derogatory remark by a contending student amid the ongoing students' union elections.

Elections for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) are underway at the varsity with a large number of students flocking to the polling booths to cast their votes. The person with a disability (PWD) voters have staged a sit-in outside the School of Languages with some members of the community on hunger strike against a remark by RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's presidential candidate Umesh Chandra Ajmeera made during the presidential debate's question-answer session.

Ajmeera on Thursday referred to a quote 'An eye for an eye, makes the world blind' by Mahatma Gandhi which triggered a section of students from the PWD community. The remark was made by Ajmeera in response to a question asked by another candidate during the session of the presidential debate.

Condemning the statement, the JNUSU Election Committee later in the day noted that the remark was not an ''anti-disability'' comment.

''The EC has not registered our protest. They have simply condemned the statement and also declared it not an anti-disability comment. We don't have anything against any particular party but we want the EC to take action against this,'' Ram, a PWD student and PhD scholar at the varsity told PTI. The ABVP alleged that its presidential candidate was prevented from delivering his speech during the session and accused the Election Committee of bias for the left outfits. The PWD voters have demanded the JNUSU Election Committee meet them and take action against Ajmeera for his statement, which they said has hurt the sentiments of the community. Meanwhile, no statement has been issued by the poll body so far regarding the protest by the differently abled students.

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