Tharoor calls it a “shame” to suspend students in a democracy
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed outrage at Delhi University's decision to suspend Ph.D. researcher Lokesh Chugh for his participation in the screening of the prohibited BBC documentary on the university campus on January 27.
For a year, the scholar has been forbidden from taking any university, college, or departmental examinations. Shashi Tharoor, an alumnus of the varsity, expressed dismay at the surprising decision.
"In a democracy, suspending a student for seeing a documentary is a shame and a violation of everything a university should stand for. "Shame!" said the Congress MP on Twitter.
Lokesh Chugh is the national secretary of the National Students' Union of India, which is linked with the Congress party. In addition to Lokesh, Ravinder from the law faculty has been suspended.
The controversial documentary on the Gujarat riots, India: The Modi Question, for which the BBC was chastised, was played at Delhi University amid a controversy surrounding the documentary's ban.
The documentary was shown at NSUI and the Bhim Army Student Federation.
The university formed a committee to investigate the incident, and the committee suggested that eight students be punished. Two of the eight have been suspended for a year, while the others have received a less severe penalty.
The BBC program sparked a massive political uproar by criticizing Narendra Modi's role in the Gujarat riots.
The Assam government on Tuesday issued a resolution in the assembly criticizing the documentary and said it was aimed at maligning India's growing international status and "foment domestic instability".
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