Just days after the Left Unity clinched all four important posts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union elections, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that there were forces within the campus who were “waging war against India.” She added it was “also seen with the elected representatives of the students’ union.”
Speaking during an interaction with journalists in New Delhi, Sitharaman on Tuesday, 18 September, said that she felt “sad at many things happening” in the university, over the last few years, reported The Indian Express.
An alumnus of the JNU, Sitharaman added that the “kind of things” happening over the last few years have not been “encouraging at all.”
The kind of things happening in last few years have not been encouraging at all. It is very different to have a party, whose ideology I may not agree (with), but the way in which they have probably got led by forces which are anti-India — when I say anti-India, definitely it is a stated position they are waging a war against India in their pamphlets and their brochures…Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister
Pointed Dig at JNUSU Representatives
She alleged that people who were leading the JNUSU were openly participating in such (anti-national activities) programmes, and that one shouldn’t “hesitate to say anti-India led” students’ union, reported The Indian Express, quoting Sitharaman.
“Such people leading the JNUSU or JNUSU members openly participating with such programmes… you don’t need to hesitate to say anti-India led them. There are forces which are waging a war against India and it is they who are also seen with elected representatives of the students’ union. That makes me feel uneasy.”Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister
JNUSU Responds to Sitharaman
The JNUSU released a statement later in the day stating that it was “deeply dismayed” by Sitharaman’s statements. The students’ union also called it “utterly baseless and condemnable.”
We see this as a continuation of the systematic slander against JNU students and faculty that has resulted in numerous attacks on students and teachers, such as the one on Sanjay Kumar in Motihari, Bihar, or elsewhere.JNUSU Statement.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)