JNU orders probe into effigy burning of PM on Dussehra

JNU administration ordered an inquiry on Thursday into burning of effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others by a section of students in the university campus on the occasion of Dussehra by projecting them as Ravana.

JNU administration ordered an inquiry on Thursday into burning of effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others by a section of students in the university campus on the occasion of Dussehra by projecting them as Ravana.

The JNU administration ordered an inquiry on Thursday into burning of effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others by a section of students in the university campus on the occasion of Dussehra by projecting them as Ravana. (HT Photo)

“We have ordered an inquiry into the effigy burning incident and are examining the issue,” said JNU vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar, whose picture was also put on the effigy set ablaze on Tuesday night.

The move comes nearly a week after the varsity ordered a proctorial inquiry into burning of effigy of Gujarat government and ‘gau-rakshak’ (cow vigilantes) and issued show-cause notices to the students concerned.

While Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed and heads of several other militant organisations were the faces of Ravana effigies burnt on Dussehra across the country, members of Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) chose the visages of PM and BJP chief Amit Shah to represent the demon king and burnt the effigy on Tuesday.

They claimed that it was a protest against the Centre’s “failure” to honour its promises and the “continuous attacks” on various educational institutions across the country.

While university officials maintained that no permission was sought for the event, the organisers claimed that effigy burning was a “routine” thing on campus and did not require permission from the administration.

Besides Modi and Shah, the effigy had faces of yoga guru Ramdev, Sadhvi Pragya, Nathuram Godse, Asaram Bapu and the Vice-Chancellor. The students also carried placards with the slogan, ‘Truth shall prevail over evil’.