JNU Students Protest For Modi To Go Back Amidst Statue Unveiling

Prime Minister Modi is supposed to unveil the life size statue of Swami Vivekanand at the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Thursday.

JNU students hold protest against the inauguration of the statue of Swami Vivekanand in their campus. While they are not against the idea of Swami Vivekanand, they are against the idea of wasting funds on such endeavours. The JNU student union calls for Modi to go back. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to virtually address and unveil the statue on the campus.

The controversy hit the campus way before the PM was scheduled.

The JNU Students Union (JNUSU) has called for a protest gathering at 5 pm on November 12 at the varsity’s North Gate.

A poster released by the JNUSU calls for PM Modi to ‘go back’ and demands ‘answers’ from the MoE (ministry of education).

This is not the first time that the JNU students have protested against the statue making.

The have repeatedly been criticising the administration for the construction of the statue.

What do the students have to say?

Sunny Dhiman, a JNU student, told Times Now: “Finally, Mr Modi is going to visit JNU (virtually). The BJP and the RSS hate JNU and colour it as anti-national, tukde tukde gang leader. In October 2016, we had burnt PM Modi’s effigy. Today, all over India, farmers are burning his effigy. It would be the greatest disservice to the soul of Swami Vivekananda if PM Modi fails to address the problems of farmers.”

Another student Vishnu Prasad said the Modi government’s priorities were wrong.

“We are not against the teachings of Swamy Vivekananda, but the priorities must be noted here. Ever since this government has come, they have been attacking the very idea of JNU. They have been consistently increasing the cost of academic activities. They have been wasting money on unnecessary things.”

ahead of the ceremony later today, PM Modi tweeted this morning: “At 6:30 this evening, will unveil a statue of Swami Vivekananda at the JNU campus and share my thoughts on the occasion. The programme will be held via video conferencing. I look forward to the programme this evening.”

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The ceremony will be preceded by a programme on Swami Vivekananda starting 5:30 pm.

“Swami Vivekananda is one of the most beloved intellectuals and spiritual leaders India has been fortunate to produce. He enthused the youth with his message of freedom, development, harmony and peace in India. He inspired citizens to take pride in Indian civilisation, culture and its industrious spirit,” the JNU Vice-Chancellor earlier said in a statement.