Universities can’t be ‘laboratories of hate’: JNU vows strictest action after slogans against PM Modi, Amit Shah

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration on Tuesday vowed strictest action against students who raised controversial slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying while freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but violence and anti-national activities can not be tolerated.

In a statement shared on X, the JNU administration said universities are centres for innovation and can’t be allowed to turn into “laboratories of hate”. “Universities are centres for innovation and new ideas, and they cannot be permitted to be converted into laboratories of hate. Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right. But any form of violence, unlawful conduct or anti-national activity will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” the statement read.

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It further stated that an FIR has already been lodged in the matter and students involved in the sloganeering will face disciplinary action, including immediate suspension, expulsion and permanent debarment from the University.

The JNU statement came a day after a group of students raised controversial slogans against PM Modi and Home Minister Shah.

‘Modi, Shah…’: Sloganeering at JNU after SC verdict on Umar Khalid, Sharjeel triggers political reactions

The FIR was also registered in this regard against several students, including Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) President Aditi Mishra.

It was also alleged that the slogans were raised during a protest held after student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were denied bail in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

However, the JNUSU said that the protest was organised in memory of the 2020 attacks on JNU campus. “JNUSU had organised a vigil on 5 January 2026 to keep the memory of the 2020 attacks on JNU alive and to highlight the above mentioned pattern of injustice at Sabarmati Hostel, which was the prime target of the 2020 attacks…,” it said.

The JNUSU further alleged organised attempts to defame the University and intensify the persecution of students.

“Unfortunately the media whose role is to speak truth to power is siding with those in the government to spread slander against JNU,” the JNUSU statement added.