New Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) A clash erupted between students from the Left outfits and the ABVP early Tuesday during a University Governing Body Meeting (UGBM) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University over alleged derogatory remarks against Lord Ram.
The JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) alleged that the ABVP members hurled casteist slurs at office-bearers of JNUSU.
The meeting was convened by the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) to discuss their participation in the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) elections — a body established to address sexual harassment complaints on campus.
The JNUSU has long been opposing the setting up of ICC in place of Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) which was scrapped by the varsity in 2017.
In a statement on Tuesday, the JNUSU alleged that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members disrupted the proceedings of the UGBM by forcibly occupying the stage, and heckled and threatened its members.
“As habitual offenders, the ABVP started disrupting the UGBM. They heckled JNUSU President Dhananjay, Vice President Avijit Ghosh, and Joint Secretary Mohammad Sajid, as well as other students who came to share their views. They also directed casteist slurs at Dhananjay, calling him 'neech'," the statement said. According to the JNUSU, ABVP members also threatened Sajid, saying "tumko bhi Najeeb bana denge", a reference to the disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed (a student of JNU who went missing from his hostel in 2016).
The meeting, which lasted until 2:30 am, had to be adjourned due to the chaos.
Meanwhile, the ABVP accused the Left students' outfits of making derogatory remarks against Lord Ram.
"ABVP-JNU condemns the derogatory remarks made against Prabhu Shri Ram by a member of the Left in the UGBM. During his speech, the Left member stated that Savarkar and 'Neech' Ram are the role models of the ABVP karyakartas," it said.
It added, "We strongly oppose such attempts by the Leftists to create communal disharmony on the JNU campus." PTI SJJ SJJ KVK KVK