As Jawaharlal Nehru University students continue to demand a complete rollback of the fee hike, they have now alleged that the police is being sent to their homes and harassing them.
The fight against the fee hike has been going on for more than a month, with the students still taking to the streets frequently.
Speaking to The Quint, Satish Chandra, the general secretary of JNUSU said their fight against the fee hike has seen the participation of many students from other universities as well.
“Even the IITs, IIMs are facing similar issues and we have been fighting to save our educational spaces. However, now the police is resorting to different methods to silence us,” he said.
'Will Not Be Silenced'
Recalling their march to the Parliament in November, Chandra said that the government has sent the police to many students’ homes to threaten and scare them.
“I want to tell the government these tactics won’t help them at all. They sent police to my house for inquiry. They did the same to many of the students and activists that have been involved in the protest.”Satish Chandra, General Secretary, JNUSU
Jitendra Soona, a member of Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association (BAPSA) told The Quint that the police has visited his house twice. He said that the police visited his house for the first time on 23 November and questioned his family about their background and work.
“They told my parents to stop me from participating in the protest and not to question the government. They visited again on 27 November and interrogated my parents again,” Soona added.
He further stated that these visits are being made to suppress the voices of students like him, who are involved in bahujan politics and the related protests in the campus.
Echoing Chandra’s views, Soona also asserted that he will not be silenced, and instead, will raise his voice along with other students against the government.
Another student, Albert, said that following a visit by a police officer to his grandmother’s, the cop called him and interrogated him.
He said, “They inquired about me and my family, my background. My grandmother has heart-related problems, she panicked when she met the police officer.”
“Our fight will continue, we won't bow down or be scared,” added Albert.
Last week, many JNU students staged a protest near HRD Ministry premises in Delhi, demanding that recommendations of the government-constituted panel, on restoring normal functioning in the university, be made public.
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