JNU protest not a Left vs BJP issue: Ex-JNUSU presidents

New Delhi: Former presidents of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU), including CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and party member Prakash Karat, on Monday extended their support for the students of JNU demanding a rollback of the hostel fee hike and an inquiry into the police violence during a rally by JNU students.

The former JNUSU members in a released joint statement demanded a "time-bound inquiry" by a high court judge into the "unprovoked police violence against peaceful protest rally of JNU students." The leaders will also join the students' call to form a human chain at Connaught Place in central Delhi on November 27.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, all the former presidents criticised the government for the police action on JNU students. "The privatisation and commercialisation of education has led to the spread of a public perception that subsidies are out of place and a so-called reasonable return on investment must be ensured," said Yechury.

He added that earlier governments were forced to debate these issues publicly and face failed attempts to pass reform bills in Parliament. "With the decline of these democratic practices under the present regime, the practice of resorting to executive orders to implement policies without public debate has become the new normal," said the CPI(M) leader.

Echoing the same sentiments, Padmashree awardee and former JNUSU president N R Mohanty said, "This is not a Left vs BJP issue. When we were students, we protested against the government when the Congress was in power. This is simply about raising your voice against what is wrong." D Raghunandan, Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Devi Prasad Tripathi are among the former JNUSU presidents to sign the joint statement. Meanwhile, the three-member HRD Ministry constituted is yet to submit its report on the fee hike issue.