New Delhi, February 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):The newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, has come under fire for her posts on Twitter giving a call for genocide of Muslims, abusing Islam, protesting farmers, Shaheen Bagh protesters and the JNU itself.

Pandit, who hastened to delete her Twitter account to avoid scrutiny, even justified the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi by Nathuram Godse, called for China-style treatment of the activists and termed farmers “parasitic”. “Sunni Islam is radical thanks to Wahabi influence. It has problems with modernity, secularism and living peacefully with non-Muslims,” reads one of her tweets.

Reacting to her appointment, a student leader, Afreen Fatima, who recently graduated from the JNU, said that given the record of outgoing V-C, Jagadesh Kumar, who was unduly favouring Hindutva agenda of the government, Pandit’s appointment is not shocking to them, but it is disturbing and concerning.

“We are extremely concerned that in a university where Najeeb was forced to disappear from the campus, such V-C, who openly calls for violence and termed JNU students like Sharjeel Imam “Jihadi”, has been appointed. She even called me “Jihadi”. This is disturbing which will increase a sense of insecurity among students,” said Fatima.

She said, “The appointment of such the new V-C would discourage students, especially from the marginalised communities like Muslims who face discrimination, from taking higher studies in the JNU. Their participation would decrease. “She is out-rightly Islamphobic and holds anti-Muslim sentiments. It would make Muslim students more insecure and isolated.”

In a tweet justifying the assassination of Gandhi, Pandit said, “I would agree both Gandhi and Godse, both read Gita and believed and took opposite lessons. Godse thought action was important and identified the solution for a united India in the assassination of one person Mahatma Gandhi. Sad.”

Pandit’s tweet about farmers said, “Farmers so-called parasitic middlemen led by Yo Ya (Yogendra Yadav) and Tikiat (Rakesh Tikait) are liars and losers”. She called Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) “Jihadi”.

“So what that is her opinion. You have jihadis at Shaheen Bagh talk worse things. The Owaisis are worse. You ignore them or even call them secular,” reads one of her reply tweets. She called Christians “rice bag converts”. She even urged to stop the funding of Jamia Millia Islamia University and St. Stephens college.

“Losers from JNU who have lost control. Ban these extremist Naxal groups from campuses. Stop funding communal campuses like Jamia and St. Stephens,” the tweet reads. Pandit’s appointment as the JNU VC has come under the criticism after her tweets surfaced. Journalist Vir Singhvi called her two rupees troll. Well-known academician and columnist, Ashok Swain, said he had blocked her on Twitter and unfriended her on Facebook for her views.

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