ABVP will feel sad because of Akhil Bharatiya Video of Pitaai: Akhilesh on clash with police

Lucknow, Sep 5 (PTI) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav students affiliated to the ABVP should be sad that they were beaten up during a protest over an alleged unrecognised law course being run at a Uttar Pradesh varsity, indirectly pointing fingers at its Sangh Parivar affiliate BJP that is in power in the state.

Videos have emerged online showing baton-wielding police personnel confronting Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) demonstrators on the campus of Barabanki's Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University.

The RSS-affiliated ABVP has announced that it will resort to state-wide protests on the issue if its demands are not met.

Responding to reporters' questions on the matter, Yadav said, "The protest should be held not only at the national level, but at the international level because the BJP is the largest party in the world." The former UP CM added, "Students and the people of the organisation will feel sad because Akhil Bharatiya Video of Pitaai (All India video of being thrashed).

Yadav reiterated the ABVP protest as a fight between the "parishad and vahini" (the state leadership and the foot soldiers).

"Those who are occupying the seat of power are no longer members of the Bharatiya Janata Party. You all know this. They sat on that chair after killing the future of so many people in the BJP. So naturally, the students must be feeling sad after watching the Akhil Bharatiya Video of Pitaai," Yadav said in an apparent jibe at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Abhinav Mishra, the national executive council member of ABVP, listed out the student organisation's key demands on the lathi-charge: register cases and ensure strict action against police personnel and hired goons involved in the lathi-charge; make public who ordered the police action.

He also called for a high-level inquiry into the unrecognised law course and punishment for university officials responsible for it.

The ABVP has also demanded strict action against the university on the basis of the FIR lodged by the Secretary of the Higher Education Council.

Yadav also spoke on SP's student wing's involvement in the protests against unrecognised courses and institutes.

"Our student wing office bearers were protesting against the discrimination in institutes and the way institutions are exploiting students. They are ruining their future." "Today, I called the students from Pratapgarh, who were pursuing a course in Pharmacy. When they were supposed to get their degree, they found out that the institute is not even recognised. Now imagine the future of those who did the course for three years and paid fees," Yadav said.

"The owner (of the institution) has been sent to jail, but what is the responsibility of the government?" he asked, pointing out that the institute is being run in the name of the BJP government. "The future of those students after this is in darkness." When Yadav was asked to comment on UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who called ABVP workers "goonda", he said certain leaders "drive mileage" out of his remarks on them.

ABVP workers held a protest outside Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) leader OP Rajbhar's house in Ballia on Thursday over his remarks that the outfit's members were "goons" for their protest at the university.

They also burnt Rajbhar's effigy and raised slogans against him. ABVP workers demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government immediately sack Rajbhar, a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. The student's organisation had held a similar demonstration on Wednesday outside Rajbhar's house in Lucknow. PTI NAV SKY SKY