JNU students continue protest over election notification Barak hostel opening

New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) continued their sit-in protest at the Dean of Students’ (DoS) office for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, demanding immediate issuance of the notification for the students' union elections and the opening of Barak Hostel.
    Around 80 students, led by the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU), have been staging the protest, accusing the administration of deliberately delaying the elections, JNUSU President Dhananjay told PTI.
    “We have a very fair demand, which is to issue the notification for the JNUSU elections and to open the Barak Hostel, which was built for students. However, the administration is making excuses to halt the elections. JNU has a history of fighting for democracy and our rights,” Dhananjay said.
    He alleged that the administration is trying to intimidate the protesters by sending legal petitions.
    "Their lawyers have sent us a court petition to scare us, asking us to vacate the DoS office. But I want to tell them that no student of this campus will get scared, and we will stay here till our demands are met," he said.    The protest began on Thursday when JNUSU members, along with other students, occupied the DoS office, alleging that the delay in election notification was an attempt to prevent fresh elections.
    The students have been demanding clarity on the election process, which has been stalled amid legal proceedings.
    In a notice dated March 5, the university administration, said the matter is currently sub judice in the Delhi High Court.
    It cited a report submitted by a court-appointed observer, former Supreme Court judge V Ramasubramanian, who highlighted inconsistencies in the Lyngdoh Committee Report (LCR) that could impact the conduct of the elections.
    The university has sought clarification from the court, with the next hearing scheduled for March 27.
    In addition to the election notification, students are also pressing for the opening of Barak Hostel, a facility built for North-East students.
    The hostel was e-inaugurated by Home Minister Amit Shah on February 4, 2024, but remains closed. The hostel has five floors and 228 rooms, designed to accommodate 446 students, with 75 per cent of its capacity reserved for students from the North-East.
    The administration has called the ongoing protests “unwarranted and unjustified,” urging students to wait for the court’s decision. However, JNUSU remains firm in its stance, vowing to continue the demonstration until their demands are met.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)