Akhilesh targets BJP over police action on students in Barabanki

Lucknow, Sep 3 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday claimed that ruling BJP leaders are embroiled in internal power struggles at the cost of the youth, as he slammed the police action against students who were protesting over an alleged unrecognised law course at a private university in Barabanki.

After online videos showed baton-wielding police personnel on Monday confronting demonstrators on the campus of Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the removal of the circle officer (city).

The protesting students have accused the university of jeopardising their future by enrolling them in a programme that did not have recognition from the Bar Council of India.

Sharing visuals on X, including one showing police thrashing students during a protest and images of BJP and Samajwadi Party workers clashing in Gorakhpur, Yadav accused the ruling party of "deceiving" the public with "staged" apologies and superficial gestures.

"These BJP leaders first get their own people beaten up in disputes, then whisper apologies in their ears and apply a 'superficial balm' to deep wounds," Yadav wrote in Hindi.

Referring to the Barabanki clash between cops and students, he claimed students are questioning why senior leaders are "having them beaten" while others visit to "inquire about their condition." The SP chief suggested that the incident reflects a "battle for supremacy" between different factions within the ruling party.

"This is a case of people being crushed and beaten between the two stones of 'Parishad' and 'Vahini'," he alleged, referring to students and activists of ABVP, the youth wing of the RSS.

"The videos of this historic thrashing have reached every home. Students are now questioning their association with the ruling camp. This beating has opened their eyes and shown them the BJP is loyal to no one," Yadav wrote, demanding proper medical treatment for the injured students and Rs 1 lakh compensation each.

The images shared by Yadav included visuals from Gorakhpur, where BJP and SP workers clashed over a property dispute, and a widely circulated video showing uniformed police personnel assaulting students, including ABVP activists, during a demonstration in Barabanki. PTI KIS ] RT