Bharatiya Janata Party MP and singer Hans Raj Hans has suggested that the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, founded in 1969, be renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to honour his “commendable work”, ANI reported on Sunday.
The parliamentarian praised Modi’s courage to revoke Article 370 of Constitution that granted Jammu and Kashmir special status. “Pray that everything [in Kashmir] remains peaceful and there is peace and not bombs,” Hans said at an event at the university organised in the memory of soldiers killed in the line of duty. “We are facing the brunt of the mistakes made by our ancestors.”
Taking a dig at the university’s history of anti-establishment and progressive politics, Hans asked the audience what the J in JNU stood for. Then he said: “I suggest we rename JNU to MNU, after all, there should be something named after PM Modi too.”
The Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status through a presidential order on August 5. It also split the state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The state has been under a security lockdown and communications blackout since then.
There have been reports of sporadic protests in the Kashmir Valley against the Centre’s decisions. Pakistan has condemned the moves and downgraded diplomatic ties with India. It has also suspended bilateral trade, and halted two train services and a bus service between the two countries.
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