3 Northeast CMs face protests at JNU campus; Arunachal CM Pema Khandu heckled

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu faced disruptions from angry students while campaigning for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday night. Khandu was joined in the campaign by Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal and Manipur CM Biren Singh.

As he started speaking, Khandu was disrupted by a student who said that several students from Northeast India were not allowed to enter the venue of the Koyna Hostel mess. “All the students from the Northeast have not been allowed to enter here. This is not right,” she said. Her disruptions were followed by cries of ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ by ABVP members.

Responding to her, Khandu said that, “I have not yet started speaking, let me begin, we will take your questions later.”   

Students were protesting outside the venue, with placards, against the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Several students said that they were not allowed to enter by the ABVP. Promises of an interactive session were also rescinded, and eventually only two questions were allowed once the three CMs spoke individually.

.@PemaKhanduBJP faced another angry student at JNU's Koyna Hostel mess. This student wanted to ask tough questions on the state if education in her home state. @dna pic.twitter.com/87QWp8hj0y

— amrita madhukalya (@visually_kei) August 28, 2018

One of the questions, the last, was posed by a student from Arunachal Pradesh, who directed her question to Khandu. “My question is very particular; you talk about development, roadways, etc, what about education? When Arunachal this year, 2017-18, witnessed 95% failures in school? Is your government incompetent, or are you trying to delegitimise public education and promote privatisation, like your government is doing, like the MHRD is doing? What is your say on this,” asked the student, amid claps and cheers.

.@PemaKhanduBJP had to face an unfriendly member if the audience at Koyna Hostel Mess in JNU tonight while campaigning for @abvpjnu @dna pic.twitter.com/xz6SRPqKCB

— amrita madhukalya (@visually_kei) August 28, 2018

In his reply, Khandu said that the question was “very nice” and that he liked it. “The questions that she has asked about the results of students of the 10th and 12th standard students under the CBSE. Why has the education system deteriorated in Arunachal Pradesh, and what have I done to improve it? See, leaders like us face questions for which you will have to go to the history of the matter,” he said.

He said that the Right To Education Act was implemented in 2008-09 by the Centre. “I have this to say, under RTI, board exams were removed and before that, we had board exams even in the fifth and eighth standards. From 2008-09 to 2015-16, any student who has studied is in a government school has never faced any difficulty. I took overcharge of the state in 2015-16, and since then, I announced that in the academic year 2017-18, board exams will be brought back in the fifth and eighth standard, and the old grade system has be restarted,” he said.        

Khandu and the other CMs, soon left the mess.