Periyar, Karl Marx photos ‘vandalised’ at JNU; Stalin reacts as students attacked

The Left-led JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) on Monday alleged that members of the RSS-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) vandalised the portraits of Periyar, Bhagat Singh, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Karl Marx, Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule and several other icons installed on the university campus.

“The ABVP has vandalised the portraits of Periyar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Baba Saheb Ambedkar, Karl Marx,Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule and several other icons. The walls inside the SU office have also been vandalised by the ABVP,” JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh tweeted.

Ghosh also alleged that the ABVP was trying to disturb the communal harmony inside the campus. “Condemning the vandalism in SU office and violence on the student community in the strongest possible terms,” she tweeted.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin also condemned the attack on Tamil students allegedly by ABVP members and requested the vice chancellor to initiate action against the culprits and protect students from Tamil Nadu.

“The cowardly attack on Tamil students by ABVP and vandalising the portraits of leaders like Periyar, Karl Marx at #JNU, is highly condemnable and calls for a strict action from the Univ Admin,” tweeted Stalin.

Stain also alleged that the security personnel of JNU and Delhi Police turned mute spectators to the violence unleashed on students.

“Highly condemnable and calls for strict action from the university administration. The securities of JNU and Delhi Police have time and again turned mute spectators to the violence unleashed on students who fight for their rights and are critical of the Union BJP regime,” he added.

On Sunday, members of the BJP's students' wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), had accused students of Left-backed affiliates of also being behind the desecration of a portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

It had earlier accused the Congress-backed National Student's Union of India (NSUI) of orchestrating the vandalism at the office of the JNU students' body.

However, the JNUSU alleged that the ABVP attacked some students after a march seeking justice for an IIT Bombay student who died by suicide. The ABVP denied the charge.

After the clash broke out on the campus, the varsity administration, meanwhile, said any activity on the premises of inter-hall-administration, hostels, students activity centre (Teflas) and sports grounds would require formal permission.

In a statement, the university said any event organised without due permission will invite disciplinary action as per the rules.

In a statement, the JNUSU said, “The ABVP has once again resorted to attacking students…This was done soon after a candlelight march in solidarity with the call by Darshan Solanki's father…ABVP did this once again to derail the movement against caste discrimination.”

The ABVP denied the charge and accused the “Left group” of removing a garland from a picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and throwing it away.

The student outfit said it had organised a function to mark the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

“Immediately after the programme, the students from the Left came there and removed the garland from the picture and threw it away,” the ABVP said in a statement.