ABVP stages protest march over JNU row

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists staged a protest march from the Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar on Wednesday afternoon to vent their ire over an event at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in which 'anti-national' and 'pro-Afzal Guru' slogans were allegedly raised.

The agitators carried tricolors and placards with messages such as "Afzal ke yaaron ko, Joota maaro saalon ko" and "Youth against anti-national activities". The other messages read, "India won't tolerate insult to soldiers", "I am against anti-national activities" and "Desh ke gaddaron ko joota maaro saalon ko".

The protesters, who also raised patriotic slogans such as "Bharat mein rahana ho toh, Vande mataram kehna hoga", criticised those eulogizing Afzal Guru.

The ABVP activists had earlier last week staged similar protests in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata against the 'anti-national' sentiments that have risen from the JNU in recent times.

The ABVP, which is the BJP's youth wing, has been opposing those raising the question of freedom of speech over the arrest of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar.