Hundreds of students and teachers of Delhi University, JNU and Jamia hit the streets with a call to “save” the varsities from the “onslaught” of ABVP and “curbing” of dissent.
Meanwhile, Kargil martyr’s daughter Gurmehar Kaur, who started a facebook campaign against ABVP, left Delhi following rape threats and to avoid controversy further. Early morning she withdraws herself from the protest march against ABVP and appealed to leave her alone.
The students held posters with messages like “Your nationalism is not above our democracy”.
Even politics intensified after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal comes in her support and slammed Bharatiya Janata Party’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad for allegedly threatening Kargil Martyr’s daughter.
Speaking to media, Kejriwal said BJP’s politics of Gunda-Gardi has been exposed, “Sablog dekh rahe hain, ye BJP ke log pehle khud hi Bharat virodhi naare lagvate hain, fir khud ABVP ke gundo ko bhej ke students ki pitaai karvate hain,(Everyone can see, these BJPians first organise anti-India slogans, then send ABVP goons and thrash other students).”
Kejriwal sought the arrest of ABVP activists blamed for violence in Delhi University and said Lt Governor Anil Baijal had promised “strict action”.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader tweeted that he met Baijal and demanded the arrest of “those who caused violence in DU, shouted anti-India slogans and who threatened (student) Gurmehar (Kaur).
“He (Baijal) assured strict action,” Kejriwal said.
Kaur, who on Monday filed a complaint and was given protection from the DCW, withdrew from the campaign on Tuesday and said, “I’m withdrawing from the campaign. Congratulations everyone. I request to be left alone. I said what I had to say. I have been through a lot and this is all my 20-year-self could take.”
She added that the campaign was about students and not about her. “Please go to the march in huge numbers. Best of luck. To anyone questioning my courage and bravery, I’ve shown more than enough,” she said in another tweet.
There was heavy police deployment to prevent a rerun of the clashes that were witnessed between ABVP and AISA last week following cancellation of an event at Ramjas College after activists of the RSS-backed students’ wing objected to the invitation to JNU student leaders Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid.
One of the faculty members, marching with the students, alleged that the university has been “taken over” and that authorities were not acting to prevent it.
