By Rohan Agarwal

New Delhi, Jan 14 (IANS): while a section of students and teachers are demanding his resignation, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar told IANS, here on Tuesday, that he was being targeted for attempting to restore discipline.

The Vice-Chancellor blamed a section of teachers for opposing him because they were told to follow rules and abide by the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.

"In every institute a professor is supposed to apply for leave before going abroad. But here rules are not followed. When I asked them to apply for leave, it annoyed them," the former the IIT-Delhi professor said when asked what split the campus in two sections during his tenure.

"The teachers skipped the campus when they didn't have lectures. The UGC guidelines state they have to be in the university for at least 5 hours a day. I stopped that. I introduced the biometric system for attendance, which was opposed by this section of teachers and some students," the V-C said.

According to Kumar, this section of teachers and students is trying to derail peace on campus to target him.

The Vice-Chancellor appealed them to stop "unjustified protest" and return to campus. "Teachers should teach and students carry on with their studies. Let us be part of the university's forward march."

"We have considered all their demands. The utility charges for students have been waived, and room rent reduced by 50 per cent for general and by 75 per cent for BPL (below poverty line) category students.

"The protest now is nothing but an attempt to derail campus normalcy," Kumar said.

The JNU has been in the news for some time. It hit the headlines on January 5 when several masked persons assaulted students and teachers with iron rods and sticks. After investigation, the Delhi Police named 9 students as suspects, which included JNUSU president-elect Aishe Ghosh.