New Delhi: JNU teachers on Friday alleged that the varsity had sent a report with "partial facts" to the HRD ministry about the controversial event held against hanging of Afzal Guru and Smriti Irani made her statement in parliament quoting from the same report.
"The HRD Minister quoted from a report sent to the ministry by JNU containing partial facts. The so called preliminary report of the high-level committee probing the event was finalised in a day's time without consulting anyone," JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) President Ajay Patnaik told reporters.
In a hard-hitting speech in Lok Sabha, laced with emotion and anger, the HRD Minister had defended the action against students of JNU saying Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the JNU authorities themselves.
The statement by the minister has not only left the teachers "baffled" but also the students who say their names are now being "shouted" in Parliament because of the varsity's "half-cooked" report.
"Not even once we were asked before the report found us guilty and the varsity debarred us. In a single day, they reached to a conclusion, declared us guilty, sent a half-cooked report to the ministry and the same was presented in Parliament," said Ashutosh Kumar, one of the students who were being searched by police in connection with a sedition case.
The JNU Students Union said in a press statement, "Why did Smriti Irani use the JNU administration's report, which violated all principles of natural justice and due diligence, to declare JNU students as prima facie 'guilty'?"
"Clearly, the Minister has misused her government
position and power to put a 'sarkari' seal on the highly questionable order of the 'High Level Enquiry Committee'," it added.
The students and teachers have already refused to participate in any enquiry process by the university until the panel starts a fresh enquiry and revoked the suspension of eight debarred students.
According to varsity authorities, it is for the panel to decide whether they want to start the enquiry afresh and JNU won't dictate terms to the committee.
The JNU administration had instituted the "disciplinary" committee to inquire as to how the event on February 9 against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru took place despite the withdrawal of permission for the same.
On the basis of a preliminary report by the panel, the varsity had debarred eight students from academic activity while allowing them to stay as guests in hostels till the inquiry proceedings were over.
JNU students and teachers had repeatedly appealed to the Vice Chancellor for expansion of the three-member committee to have an unbiased and broad-based enquiry.
While the varsity had earlier ruled out changing the composition of the high-level committee saying it had full-faith in it, the Vice Chancellor on Tuesday decided to add two more members to the probe panel.
