Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik has directed his personnel to desist from using force against protesting students of Jawaharlal Nehru University who are carrying out a march from Mandi House to Parliament on Saturday.
Hundreds of students and alumni gathered at Mandi House for the protest march till Parliament opposing a proposed fee hike in JNU. Among those assembled in the march were JNU alumni Yogendra Yadav and Umar Khalid.
“The hiked fee would deprive about 80 per cent of students from quality education as most households in the country cannot afford such high fees,” news agency quoted Yogendra Yadav as saying.
As all government offices and Parliament is closed, Patnaik has directed his men to restrain themselves from using force on the students and allow them to carry out the march to a certain point. Thereafter, the students would not be allowed to cross the barricades and process of preventive detentions would be carried out.
On Friday, there was uproar in the Rajya Sabha over police personnel using force on the protesting students.
For several days, the JNU students have been protesting. The students’ union has been on a strike against the draft hostel manual, approved by the Inter-Hall administration, which it claims has provisions for hostel fee hike, dress code and curfew timings.The JNUSU also demanded the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar.