Bijnor MP in AMU court: Stud union, BJP locked in war of words

AMU students' union and BJP leaders engaged in a war of words over the appointment of riots-accused BJP MP Kunwar Bharendra Singh in AMU court, highest governing body of the varsity.
"This issue has wide ramifications because it appears that BJP has deliberately chosen to nominate a person to the membership of the court of this prestigious national institution despite being fully aware of his antecedents," Vice-President of AMU Students' Union, Syed Masoodul Hasan said.
Hasan has demanded the resignation of HRD Minister Smriti Irani for allowing the BJP MP to be empanelled in the Lok Sabha quota for membership of the university court.

"The government should be aware that when the MP will visit the AMU campus for attending the next meeting of AMU court, it can lead to a grave law and order situation because students would oppose the entry of such a person whose name arouses strong passions for his role in communal riots," he said.
President of AMU Women's College Students' Union Gulfiza Khan said, "If we wish to make our institutions of higher learning as model institutions, then membership of governing bodies should be restricted to the persons of academic background and not those who excite violent reactions."
"I fail to understand what message the present government wishes to convey to us by such an appointment," she said.

Meanwhile the local BJP leaders have expressed serious concern over dragging the HRD minister into the row.

BJP district president Devraj Singh said that by making wild accusations against the MP and subsequently dragging the name of the Union HRD Minister in this controversy Hasan was indulging in unacceptable behaviour.
He said that the AMU Students' Union Vice President's claim that students would block the entry of Bharatendra Singh into the campus was a sign of rowdy behaviour and would not be tolerated.
"In the past also the above student leader had used intemperate language while criticising Irani's intervention in AMU affairs," he said.

The appointment of Kunwar Bharendra Singh, an MP from Bijnor and accused in Muzaffarnagar riots' case had drawn sharp reactions from varsity's community which described it as an attempt to "tamper" with its autonomy and special character.
Union HRD ministry's list of six members appointed to the AMU court from Lok Sabha quota includes names of four BJP Lok Sabha members including Bharatendra Singh and Aligarh MP Satish Kumar Gautam.