CAA Protests: Centre Reportedly Directs Monitoring Of Students’ Facebook, Twitter Accounts

New Delhi: The Centre is learnt to have asked all universities and technical institutes managed by it to keep a watch on the social media accounts of students and teachers in view in the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

News portal the Print has reported that the Ministry of Human Resource and Development has asked the registrars and vice-chancellors of central universities and technical institutes such as IITs and NITs to monitor the Facebook, Twitter accounts as well as WhatsApp groups of teachers.

The Ministry has reportedly sent a circular in this regard to the institutes following large-scale protests in the campuses. Central universities such as Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, the University of Delhi and Banaras Hindu University, in particular, have seen unrest and clashes over the past week over CAA.

Curiously, the Ministry had earlier this year issued a similar circular asking the universities to connect the students’ social media accounts with respective colleges. “The move will come in handy in the current situation,” the news report said. The institutes have been asked to report to the Ministry about actions taken in this regard.

The report quoting a ministry source said the Whatsapp group of teachers would also be tracked as they have also allegedly mobilised students and discussed the protests through this platform.