Jawaharlal Nehru University students staying as tenants in south Delhi's Munirka area are being asked to "vacate", Bharatiya Janata Party MP Udit Raj has claimed describing it as a consequence of a "motivated" campaign to label the varsity as a den of "anti-nationals and traitors".
Raj, an alumnus of the institution, said that only a section and not the "whole" of JNU support "anti-nationals" while lamenting that a "wrong message" has gone out to the people which needs to be corrected.
Referring to a statement made by another alumnus, Raj said, "JNU students staying in rented accommodations in the Munirka area are being asked to vacate terming them as anti- nationals in the wake of the recent incident."
JNU Students Union Vice President Shehla Rashid Shora made a similar claim wondering who would "mend this damage".
"Our opponents are saying that we should wait for the enquiry to be over but what about the entire university being branded 'anti-national', some of my friends have been asked to vacate their rented houses in Munirka," Shora said.
The BJP MP also termed as "unfortunate" Monday’s attack on journalists, JNU teachers and students inside the Patiala House Court premises by groups of lawyers.
Raj, who represents the North West Delhi constituency, said he was "unaware" of sedition charges against arrested JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar. "Let there be more clarity. It's too early to comment."
Raj said "it is not the fact" when pointed out that a section of the right wing has demanded the "shut down" of JNU and has gone on to describe it as a "den" of "traitors and anti-nationals".
"I am not aware of any such demand and in case someone has said so I disassociate from those remarks. BJP and ABVP condemn such demands if any. We also oppose any attempts to interfere with the probe into the case," he said.
He also took an ambiguous position over police presence in the campus of the sprawling university saying that there was a similar "clampdown" during his days as a student.
Flanked by a number of former JNU students, Raj stressed on the need to "isolate" students allegedly indulging in anti-India activities. Police should be assisted in identifying those elements, he said.
"It's painful. Being ex-JNU students, we are constantly being asked all sorts of questions. JNU as a whole is not a den of traitors and anti-nationals; it's a place of intellectuals. I am proud of JNU. A wrong message has gone out. It's a great institution which has produced luminaries in every field," Raj told reporters.
A group of former students also issued a statement stating that the incident in JNU should not be seen in "isolation" and that it was part of a "larger design" to weaken India and mislead its younger generation.
They also announced a three-point programme including an online signature campaign, press conferences and solidarity meets involving former JNU students across the country to strengthen hand of "responsible students" of JNU.
