Several students were injured after violence erupted on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus early this morning. The AISA-affiliated students clashed with ABVP workers during a general body meeting (GBM) at the School of Social Sciences, with both sides putting the blame on the other.
Left-wing AISA (All India Students' Association) claimed the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)'s "hooliganism" led to the violence, accusing the BJP student wing of disrupting democratic practices at the prestigious university. The ABVP claimed that the violence was provoked by a left-wing counselor, holding JNUSU president and AISA leader Nitish Kumar responsible for the violence.
GBMs are currently underway in JNU ahead of the student union elections. Out of the four central panel positions, AISA holds three and ABVP one; the two sides often accuse the other of disrupting peace and democratic values attached to the JNU.
AISA Version
The AISA has accused the ABVP of disrupting the GBM at the School of Social Sciences (SSS) and beating the students. The ABVP workers heckled the counselors while they were presenting their work reports and even snatched one of their phones, they alleged.
"When students began to question, they began beating students who were present in the GBM. They grabbed a woman student by her throat and beat several others, resulting in serious injuries," said an AISA statement.
The AISA alleged that the ABVP resorted to violence out of fear that they would lose in the upcoming election. Their defeat is guaranteed in this election. This is the reason they are resorting to violence to disrupt the electoral process," the statement said.
The JNUSU president was gheraoed for over an hour and beaten by ABVP workers, AISA students alleged.
ABVP Version
The ABVP has denied the AISA's charges and accused JNUSU president Nitish Kumar of leading the violence. It claimed that the AISA workers resorted to violence after the students protested a "divisive" remark by a left-wing counselor.
"Late night, a counselor affiliated with a left-wing group made a highly objectionable remark, saying, "People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and students of ABVP, do not deserve to be in JNU - they should be thrown out of the campus," said an ABVP statement.
ABVP leader Vaibhav Meena, joint secretary at JNUSU, called it an "insensitive remark" and accused the JNUSU president of leading the attack when the students protested.
"As soon as students protested against the statement, left-wing students attacked a woman student, creating a tense and chaotic atmosphere," the ABVP said.
The outfit claimed JNUSU president Kumar did not condemn the incident and allowed the meeting to continue through the night amid growing tension and left midway. He came back the next morning and announced adjournment—a decision that the ABVP asserted was authoritarian.
Facing protests, Kumar called his associates to attack the students, it said, accusing the Left-affiliated students of ripping their own clothes to portray themselves as victims.
"Several students were beaten, there was pushing and shoving, and the entire situation descended into chaos. Later, in an attempt to portray themselves as victims, the left-wing students reportedly tore their own clothes and fabricated a false narrative," it said.
