Delhi: JNUSU Claims Attack On Students, ABVP Denies Charge, Blames Left-backed Outfits For Insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

The Left-controlled JNU Students' Union on Sunday alleged that the ABVP attacked some students after a march seeking justice for an IIT Bombay student who died by suicide. The ABVP has denied the charge.

The RSS-affiliated ABVP accused the Left-backed student outfits of "insulting" Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

JNU organised protrest march seeking justice for Darshan Solanki

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) organised a march seeking justice for IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki.

Solanki, 18, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building on the Powai campus of the IIT on February 12, but his family suspects foul play in his death and said he faced discrimination.

In a statement, the JNUSU said, "ABVP has once again resorted to attacking students.... This was done soon after a candlelight march in solidarity with the call by Darshan Solanki's father.... ABVP does this once again to derail the movement against caste discrimination."

What did the ABVP say?

The ABVP denied the charge and accused the "Left group" of removing a garland from a picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and throwing it away.

The student outfit said it organised a function to mark the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

"Immediately after the programme, the students on the Left came there and removed the garland from the picture and threw it away," the ABVP said in a statement.

Tamil Nadu CM urges action

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday condemned the attack and urged Vice Chancellor of JNU Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit to initiate action. He said, "The cowardly attack on Tamil students by ABVP and vandalising the portraits of leaders like Periyar, Karl Marx at Jawaharlal Nehru University is highly condemnable and calls for a strict action from the university administration." 

He further said that the security of JNU and Delhi police have been "mute spectators" to the violence unleashed on students. "Universities are not just spaces for learning but also for discussion, debate and dissent," the minister added while expressing solidarity with the students. 

(With PTI Inputs)