Akhilesh appeals for saving Jauhar University after demolition notice

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday urged the people to help stop the proposed demolition of buildings of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, founded by party leader Azam Khan, and accused the BJP government of targeting the institution out of political vendetta.

The remarks come days after the Rampur Development Authority ordered the demolition of 38 of the university’s 40 buildings, saying they were constructed without approval. The university has challenged the action, maintaining that the structures were built when the area was outside the Authority’s jurisdiction.

In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister appealed to students, parents and people across the country to support efforts to save the university, describing it as a “temple of education”.

He alleged that the BJP Government was trying to make the university a victim of its “narrow politics” and was attempting to “bulldoze the dreams” of thousands of students and their parents.

Yadav said that if there were deficiencies in documentation, they should be rectified instead of demolishing the university.

He asserted that the institution served children from economically weaker sections who could not afford expensive private universities or education abroad.

He questioned whether the BJP had become “anti-youth” and claimed the government’s actions reflected its “arrogance” rather than concern for students’ future.

The SP chief alleged that the BJP was “against education” because educated people become aware of their rights and question injustice.

He also claimed that the action against Jauhar University was part of a “larger conspiracy” against students from all sections of society and accused the ruling party of pursuing a policy of political revenge.

Yadav, in another post on X, shared a copy of a purported order issued by Principal Secretary (Housing) P Guruprasad in June this year providing a one-time window to regularise buildings constructed in development authority areas on the basis of maps approved by district panchayats.

The order fixes April 1, 2026, as the cut-off date and allows a 12-month period for regularisation. It says buildings conforming to the master plan and existing building by-laws, or otherwise capable of being regularised after verification, would be treated as valid.

Yadav said the BJP Government could, if it abandoned its “politics of vendetta”, approve the map of Jauhar University in a day. He alleged that the government had used the same order to regularise thousands of buildings but was denying similar relief to the university, resulting in injustice to students and their families.

“The BJP should stop making excuses and save this temple of education,” he said, adding that “prejudice is the most visible form of injustice.”