AISA protests JNU notice to varsity poll panel for 'interrupting office duties'

The Left-backed All India Students' Association (AISA) on Saturday held a protest in the Jawaharlal Nehru University against the varsity issuing a notice to the Election Committee (EC) for allegedly "interrupting office duties". The notice to the EC was issued by Professor Umesh Kadam, Dean of Students and Chairman of the Grievance Redressal Cell (GRC), on Friday, accusing the students of barging inside his office without permission.

"This is with reference of a security report dated September 12, 2019, against you regarding forcefully barging into the room of Dean of Students without permission and misbehaving, threatening and instigating students to assemble, indulging in gherao and interrupting office duties on September 11, 2019," the notice said. The AISA alleged that the GRC illegally called the student-run EC for inquiry.

"The EC members pointed out that all inquiries of the GRC must be publicly held. When JNU EC members went to submit their responses to GRC, JNU security stopped, harassed and intimidated them," the students' body alleged. The Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India will also hold a protest over the issue on Monday.