Sanjay Baru, media advisor to the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University on Thursday supported the protest by JNU students against the hostel fee hike and said it is important to save public universities so that students can study at affordable costs.
In a video shared by former JNU Students' Union president N Sai Balaji, Baru, a JNU alumnus and author of the book, 'The accidental prime minister', said, "At a time when almost every year we are spending almost six billion dollars on Indians studying abroad, it is extremely important to save public universities."
"Jawaharlal Nehru University is one of the best public universities according to Human Resource Department (HRD) ministry's ranking and it is important to ensure that good students can study at affordable costs," he said.
Besides, Fatima Nafees, mother of missing JNU student, Najeeb Ahmed, visited the university on Thursday and met a visually challenged student, who was allegedly lathicharged by the police during the protests against hostel fee hike.
Fatima Nafees, mother of Najeeb met Shashi Bhushan Pandey at the campus and expressed solidarity with the cause of the protesting students. Pandey had claimed that he was baton charged by police on Monday depsite telling them that he is visually challenged.