Authorities want JNUSU to vacate office, students refuse to budge

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Wednesday said it will not vacate its office following an eviction notice by the university administration.

Dean of Students (DoS), Professor Umesh Kadam, had sent a notice to the students union on Tuesday asking them to vacate it. The JNUSU was not notified last year due to non-compliance with the Lyngdoh Committee Report and the matter is sub-judice.

The newly-elected union is yet to be notified, he said in the notice.

“To prevent misuse of property, it is decided by the Competent Authority of the University that the said room shall be locked immediately and the same may be handed over to the JNUSU after notification of the same,” according to the notice.

The union had been directed to vacate the office by 5 pm but they have not vacated it.

“Around 5 pm, the guards had come but we had gathered in large numbers and they could not do anything. We will not give away this office,” said vice-president of the newly-elected union Saket Moon.

The students union said, “The JNUSU belongs to 8,500 students and the administration is not in any authority to close down our spaces. The office in Teflas is not a personal property of the DOS and is our symbol of the community’s right to representation. We appeal to the student community to join hands and resist this diktat of the JNU administration to close down our spaces,” they said.

However, there was no immediate reaction from Kadam.