ABVP to protest on Mar. 2, calls for on campus exclusion of Left

In the wake of the ongoing controversy post last week's scuffle at Delhi University's Ramjas College, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) will be organizing a peaceful demonstration on March 2 in order to restore peace on the campus and to call for exclusion of the Left wing.

Addressing the media here, DUSU vice-president Priyanka said the protest will be organised against the people, who in the name of freedom of speech and expression are trying to separate the nation.

DUSU secretary Ankit Singh Sangwan on his part said the protest is aimed at restoring peace in the campus.

"And we wish that the Left wing does not enter our campus and does not speak of separating the nation in the name of freedom of speech and expression," Sangwan added.

Putting the onus on the All India Students Association (AISA) for disruption in the campus and denying allegations of molestation, the ABVP said it was the members of the former group who threw stones and dustbins at students protesting against the seminar being organized at Ramjas College.

"In the name of 'Cultures of Protest', anti-national sloganeering was done in Ramjas College and slogans supporting separation of Kashmir and Bastar were raised. When the students retaliated and exercised their freedom of speech and expression by shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', they were subjected to obscene gestures and were provoked which is how the scuffle started," said Priyanka.

"The people from the Left threw dustbins, threw stones and spat at the students of Ramjas College and we on the other side were trying to calm things down and neutralize the ideological struggle at Ramjas College. Even after all this, wrong allegations of harassment and molestation have been imposed on DUSU. It was the Left that had actually molested the students of the Ramjas College," she added.

The ABVP has also called on the Vice Chancellor of the University for taking prompt action against the teachers involved in organising the seminar.

"I request the Delhi University administration to start an investigation against the teachers, who were part of organizing this event. Why has the Vice Chancellor not commented on the issue yet? This issue is not of a college or a university, this is an issue that concerns the whole nation. It concerns everyone who loves this country, respects the army and rejects the Naxalites and the Maoists," said Sangwan.

The ABVP's assertion comes in backdrop of the unrest prevailing in the Delhi University following disruption of an event themed 'Cultures of Protest' at Ramjas College.

A 'Tiranga' march was organised by the ABVP on Monday in order to invoke nationalist sentiments on the campus.

The students of Delhi University had earlier today staged a protest against the ABVP at the SGTB Khalsa College in North Campus.

The said event was disrupted as it featured Umar Khalid, a student accused of anti-national sloganeering at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in February last year.

Khalid, who is writing his PhD. dissertation on the culture of dissent in Bastar was invited to speak on the issue of 'adivasi' protest movements.