Students Storm Streets

Thousands march towards Parliament to protest JNU fee hike, say won’t relent till it is withdrawn

- Ajay Kumar And Tanushree Pandey

Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday staged a massive protest to demand rollback of hostel fee hike. The students, led by JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), planned a protest march to Parliament on the first day of the Winter Session, but their attempt was thwarted by police intervention. The entire city remained affected as a day-long protest spilled onto the streets of Delhi.

Hundreds of students who participated in the protest were detained along with the JNUSU chief, Aishe Ghosh. They were later released after a day of high drama in the national capital. At least 15 students were injured and taken to hospitals after police lathi-charged the protestors. However, police have denied the allegation of resorting to violence.

There was heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel outside the main gate of JNU campus, even before the march commenced. Water canons and PCR vans were stationed outside.

The protest march started around 11 am as students started heading towards Parliament. Hundreds of police personnel stopped the students at the Baba Ganganath Marg, around 600 metres from the main gate of the university in south Delhi, and some of them were forcefully stopped from moving ahead.