A direct fallout of Jawaharlal Nehru (JNU), the Delhi University witnessed ‘clashes’ on Wednesday between ABVP members and a group of left-leaning students who came out in support of their JNU counterparts agitating over the arrest of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.
More than 100 students gathered outside DU Arts Faculty around 1 pm on Wednesday raising slogans against the Centre’s “transgression” in academic institutions across the country like in FTII, Hyderabad University and JNU.
Claiming not to be part of any organised political outfit, the students took out a procession carrying banners bearing messages of solidarity such as “DU with JNU” and “Dissent is not sedition”.
“About 20-25 members belonging to ABVP interrupted the meeting shouting slogans like ‘Bharat mata ke jai’ and ‘Jo Afzal ki baat karega woh Afzal ki maut marega’ (those talking about Afzal will die like Afzal),” one of the students said.
Towards the end of the meeting, ABVP members started waving the tricolour and asked the protesters to do the same and say Vande Mataram as a “proof of their patriotism”.
In doing so, some ABVP members engaged in a scuffle with the protesters and police. The ABVP members then marched through the campus raising slogans against the “anti-nationals” and condemning the meeting.
Mitesh, an ABVP activist, justified the interruptions, saying they will not tolerate “anti-national” activities.
He claimed that most of the protesters were “non-DU students”.
“Police personnel intervened in time and separated the groups. No one was injured and none has been detained,” DCP (North) Madhur Verma said.