JNU Teachers' Association condemns arrest, say they are pained

Expressing concern over the arrest of the Jawaharlal Nehru University students' union President Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) has said that they are concerned, anguished and pained 'with the kind of development and the kind of news being run across'.

"JNU has always been a university where there has been a vibrant democratic culture, where diverse political, ideological and academic views have engaged with each other in a spirit of peaceful dialogue and debate. The JNU teaching community is extremely concerned at the threat to the democratic ethos which has played a critical role in ensuring that the university serves its social function and secures its position as a premier institute of higher education," said the JNUTA in a statement.

The Association said that they strongly believed that the 'current excessive police action is totally uncalled for and it has only aggravated the situation'.

"This sentiment makes us express strong opposition to attempt to use laws and the police to suppress democratic dissent and conduct witch-hunt on our campus. The teachers of JNU condemn the massive police presence and their attempt to escalate tensions," the statement added.

They further expressed solidarity with the students and said, "We stand with entire JNU community to maintain normalcy on our campus by immediately withdrawing police and releasing all those detained."

Meanwhile, justifying Sedition charges on the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University for eulogising Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi warned people of indulging in anti-state activities saying that the punishment for the same ranged from three years to life imprisonment.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, Government will not tolerate any anti-national activities in the country. Speaking to a news agency, Mr Singh said, no one will be spared who raises anti-India slogans and tries to raise questions on national unity and integrity . He said, strict actions will be taken against them, who raised anti-India slogans at JNU. The Minister said, he has given necessary instructions to Delhi police commissioner to enquire about the incident.

Meanwhile, Jawaharlal Nehru University students' union President Kanhaiya Kumar was remanded in three days police custody by Delhi court in connection with a case of sedition. Yesterday, BJP MP from East Delhi Mahensh Giri had filed an FIR against the students involved in eulogizing Parliament Attack convict Afzal Guru.