A right-wing group put up banners and saffron flags at the main entrance to Jawaharlal Nehru University on Friday, days after two student groups clashed over serving meat in one of the messes. The Hindu Sena also warned against “strict steps” if there is an “insult to saffron”. Police said it has removed the flags and banners and registered a case under the law regarding property damage.
On Friday morning, we noticed that some flags and banners had been hung on the road and adjacent areas of JNU. These were seized and a case under Section 3 of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act 2007 was registered, said Deputy Police Commissioner (Southwest) Manoj C.
“During the investigation, three people involved in the offense were tied up under legal proceedings and the vehicle used to commit the offense was seized. Further investigation is underway, he added. The procedure does not involve detention or arrest of the accused, nor does it require the filing of charges. Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta admitted that the posters that read “Bhagwa JNU” were put up by the group’s national vice president, Surjit Singh Yadav. In a video circulating on WhatsApp, Gupta warned students against insulting the saffron.
“Saffron is regularly insulted on the JNU campus. We want to warn those who do this. Improve your ways. We will not tolerate this, he said in a Hindi video. “We respect your ideology and any religion. But insulting saffron will not be tolerated and we can take strict measures,” he said without explaining the insult.
In a statement, the right wing said police should not rush to take down the flags because it was not a symbol of terror. It is a right under the law to protect saffron and Hindutva,” it reads. The JNU unit of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) said JNU will never become a symbol of religious majoritarianism.
“JNU will always stand for an egalitarian, pluralistic, inclusive, progressive, multicultural society where people have the fundamental right to choose for themselves. JNU-NSUI strongly condemns the posters and flags hung by the so-called Hindu Sena,” the group said. With the help of the Delhi administration, the NSUI has removed these flags from the main entrance area of the university, it said. Two groups of students clashed at JNU’s Kaveri Hostel on Sunday, allegedly over serving non-vegetarian food there on Ram Navami.
Police said 20 students were injured in the violence, while the students claimed the number was around 60. The JNU Students’ Union accused RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members of preventing students from eating non-vegetarian food in the mess of the hostel and “creating a violent atmosphere”. The ABVP, in turn, denied the charges, claiming that the “leftists” blocked a puja program at the hostel on Ram Navami and that this led to the confrontation.
Read all the latest news, breaking news and IPL 2022 Live Updates here.