Demands grow for removal of JNU VC Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar

M. Jagadesh Kumar, Professor in IIT Delhi was appointed Vice Chancellor of JNU in January, 2016 for a period of 5 years. His tenure has been highly controversial due to students' agitation.

Personalities from various walks of life are now coming forward demanding removal of the JNU Vice Chancellor Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar for his failure to protect the campus from outsiders and initiative dialogues with students. The students are also organizing public meetings and protest march in the for immediate removal of the Vice Chancellor.

Former JNUSU President and senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI-M) on Wednesday announced that about 100 MPs (https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/education/821675-around-100-mps-will-write-to-president-demanding-sacking-of-jnu-vc-yechury) will write a letter to the President of India Ramnath Kovind demanding sacking of the Vice Chancellor, if he does not resign on his own. The President of India is Chancellor of all the Central universities and is responsible for action against VCs. 

Yechury was addressing a gathering of students and teachers of JNU on this issues. The VC is blamed for not reaching out to the injured students when they were injured in violence on Sunday. Shockingly, Kumar has not met the injured students so far but issued a video message on Tuesday asking them ‘to leave the past behind and work for progress of the university’. The Vice Chancellor is also criticized for the administration’s failure to prevent outsiders from entering in the campus and causing violence.

Besides the incumbent JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh who was injured in violence on Sunday, her mother Sharmistha Ghosh also joined the protest and demanded resignation of the Vice Chancellor. Similar voices were also raised by former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and other students’ leaders in the campus.

Taking out a leaf from VC's message to students, former Finance Minister and senior Congress Leader Mr.  P. Chidambaram said that the VC should resign himself.  Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi has already demanded removal of the Vice Chancellor if he does not resign on his own. In a statement on Wednesday, JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) also alleged connivance of JNU administration and deliberate inaction by Delhi police behind the violence on Sunday.

The students’ union of the university (JNUSU) on Wednesday is organizing a protest march for removal of the Vice Chancellor. The march will go from West Gate to North Gate to East Gate. Students are also getting support of the students and teachers from IIT Delhi. It pertinent to mention that Kumar is a professor of IIT Delhi and was appointed the VC of JNU in January 2016 for a period of five years. 

#RemoveJNUVC #FeesMustFall pic.twitter.com/W1U3weo9Xa

— JNUSU (@JNUSUofficial) January 8, 2020

Meanwhile, the university administration has provided a detailed flow chart to students for online registration into the next semester. After the registration, the students will be provided admit cards at a designated place. However, the university could not find out any alternative to boycott of classes by the students.