The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) on Thursday accused the university's High-Level Enquiry Committee of acting as a puppet to the in-power Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to defame the institution as part of its 2019 Lok Sabha elections propaganda.
"Since 2014, after the BJP government has come to power in Centre, it is not only inclusive higher education that has faced all-around assault, but also the student leaders who have been vocal about government's shameless saffronization propaganda in various campuses across the nation have been victimised and charged under false cases," read a statement on behalf of the JNUSU.
"JNU being one of the torchbearers in struggles against BJP government's attacks on higher education has been subjected to various false charges based on BJP's fake nationalism propaganda," the statement further read.
This came after the high-level inquiry committee on Thursday upheld Umar Khalid's rustication and a fine of Rs 10,000 imposed on Kanhaiya Kumar for raising anti-national slogans raised inside college premises in February 2016.
"Till today, even after two years the Delhi Police has not been able to file charge sheet against JNU students," JNUSU stated.
"Recent report in JNU imposing a heavy fine on student activists is just another effort by JNU administration acting as a puppet of BJP government to defame JNU as part of 2019 election propaganda. Student activists have been continuously harassed by this administration," it further stated.
Through the statement, JNUSU has appealed to the "students community and democracy loving citizens of the nation to raise their voice against witch-hunting of students of JNU".