New Delhi: Students, faculty, staff and alumni from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) on Wednesday formed a human chain at Cannaught Place's inner circle area to protest against the fee hike in the institutions.
JNU that has been protesting against the issue of fee hike from the past one month, called for a 'nation wide strike' in different institutions, especially those who are facing the issue of fee hike.
JNU Students' Union JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh, while addressing the protesting students at C.P said, "We called for this strike so that every student has the right for accessible and affordable education, which should be provided by the authorities."
She added that in the case of JNU, the students tried to have a dialogue with the Vice Chancellor (VC) but he hasn't addressed them yet.
"Today if we are coming here between the citizens, it is to address this issue. The protest is not about Rs 10 or Rs 300, the protest is for all those voices who want to come to JNU, IIT or AIIMS," she said.
On the other hand, JNUSU vice president Saket Moon revealed that Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) had gone and interrogated his parents.
"They also went to Satish Chandra's (General Secretary) house. They are trying to intimidate us and nothing else," Moon told Millennium Post.
"On November 25, officers claiming to be from from the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) set up by state Government of Uttar Pradesh visited the house of Satish Chandra Yadav Gen Secretary in Mahuawa Village and launched a series of questions relating to his academics, his activism in JNU and with regard to the ongoing movement in JNU against fee hike," said a statemeny bt JNUSU.
Meanwhile, AIIMS in a statement condemned the Centre's move to review tution fee of students and fix uniform user charges for patients in all AIIMS. The medical education at AIIMS is about Rs 6,000 per student, including tuition, hostel and all other charges for the whole duration of the MBBS programme, to which Central Institute Body (CIB) has decided to take the decision.
"Quality education and healthcare are building blocks of our nation and we will not allow any person/organisation/government to compromise on them in any aspect," said a statement by AIIMS Resident Doctor's Association (RDA) president Dr Amarinder Singh Malhi.