JNU was never "anti-national" or part of the "tukde-tukde" gang, the university's vice-chancellor said on Thursday, asserting that the institution will always foster dissent, debate and democracy.

In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters here, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, who is the first woman vice-chancellor of the university, said the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is "not saffronised" and there is no pressure from the central government in its day-to-day functioning.

Pandit, also a JNU alumnus, however, admitted that the campus was polarised when she took over and termed the phase as "unfortunate". She claimed that there were mistakes on both sides (students and administration) and the leadership erred in handling the situation.

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