The decision of the JNU administration, which imposed severe punishments on the students linked to the February 9 event, has not gone down well with Delhiites. Majority criticised the action taken against JNU Ph.D. scholar Anirban Bhattacharya, who was alleged to be one of the students who raised anti-national slogans during the February 9 event.
Hitesh Biswal, a resident of South Delhi, said, “I am just shocked to see the kind of punishments given to the students, specially Anirban. All this while he was neither shown on TV nor he was given much coverage in any media report, but then all of a sudden he is the one who has been directly barred from pursuing any course in JNU for five years. It would ruin his whole academic career.”
Agreeing with Hitesh, Karan Verma who works in a consulting firm, added, “I still feel whatever happened with the JNU students could have been avoided. Everything went into excess. Financially penalising the students was still acceptable, but rusticating them from the campus is just not acceptable. This simply means that all their efforts to study in an institution like JNU would come at a standstill. Anirban has just lost his precious five years.”
“The punishments awarded to the students are totally discriminating. Why some have been just imposed with penalty and two three students with rustication Isn’t it unfair I feel sad that Umar has been rusticated plus he has to even pay penalty whereas Anirban whose name was name was nowhere taken till now all of a sudden we hear him getting debarred for 5 years More than shocking it’s strange,” said Manvi Singh, a housewife.
Expressing concern over the future of the students, Kushal Jain, a marketing manager said, “I am totally against the action taken against the JNU students. It has come as a shock to me. I still don’t understand on what basis have the punishment has awarded to each student. Most of them have been asked for a penalty, while some have been rusticated. Injustice has been done to Anirban.”
