From Amazon fire to canteen hygiene, JNU debates ahead of students' union poll

Amid slogans of 'Jai Bhim', 'Lal Salaam', 'Vande Mataram', some booing and a minor clash, the presidential debate was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus late Wednesday ahead of the students' union polls on September 6.

At the much sought-after event, the candidates raked up national issues like abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and mob lynching, the NRC and even the forest fire in Amazon.

The issues in JNU were also raised but the speeches for a major part focussed on highlighting the achievements of the government, in case of the ABVP candidate and their criticism by the opposition parties.

The students started crowding the area near the famed Ganga Dhaba even before the scheduled time to hear candidates fight it out with their fiery words and jibes, with supporters of those leading the charge on the stage beating 'dhaplis' and shouting slogans.

There were interruptions too, as a technical snag halted the debate for 45 minutes. Then a minor clash between ABVP and Left supporters stopped proceedings for around 15-20 minutes.

Priyanka Bharti of Chhatra RJD and BAPSA candidate Jitendra Suna drew the largest cheers from the crowd, and were also cheered on by their opponents on some issues targeting the RSS-BJP.

RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's candidate Manish Jangid started his speech with slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.

"The 'tukde-tukde' gang were responsible for putting the blot of February 9 on the varsity (referring to the sedition row). When Article 370 was abrogated in Jammu and Kashmir, we were celebrating the move but the Left was abusing the Army," he said.

If elected, he said, the ABVP will offer a "campus-centric" model of politics and ensure deprivation points for women.

Jangid also raised the issue of hostel conditions and poor facilities in classroom.

"The plate in which you eat is the same one in which dogs and rats have also eaten," he told the students, amid constant booing by Left supporters and those of the NSUI.

Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India candidate Prashant Kumar condemned Jangid for referring to the sedition row and said the matter is "sub-judice". He received the cheers from several Left and BAPSA supporters.

"We were promised two crore jobs but where are those jobs? I condemn what happened with Najeeb (a JNU student who went missing from the campus), " he said.

Aishe Ghosh, the presidential candidate for the Left unity, saluted the voices of journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar M M Kalburgi, who were killed. She also said they will not forget Akhlaq, Junaid and Pehlu Khan, who were killed in separate incidents of lynching.

"Capitalist forces are encouraging the rise of right-wingers in the entire world. We do not consider the elections that were fought and won riding on the money power as democratic," she said.

She accused the government of diluting the RTI Act, Transgender Rights Bill, and also alleged human rights violation in Kashmir.

Ghosh's speech was interrupted briefly due to a clash between the ABVP and Left supporters.

Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students Association (BAPSA) candidate Jitendra Suna took to the stage amid cries of 'Jeetega Jitendra'. He began his speech by saluting Kashmiris "who are fighting for their" rights and Assamese who are "fighting for their citizenship".

Suna said he was a labourer and "his life's struggle" was depicted in his presidential debate. He attacked both the Right and the Left.

"The RSS and BJP are creating an atmosphere of fear. I feel that RSS and BJP are anti-national," he said.

Suna accused the CPI(M) of bringing capitalism and said, "Had Karl Marx been alive, he would have said, 'end CPI(M)'".

"The SFI (Students' Federation of India) will make you feel that you have reached this place because of them but what we have got is not charity but because of our constitution," he said.

Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate Priyanka Bharti said the government wants to privatise education and deny access to it to students from marginalised backgrounds.

Taking a dig at the Centre for abrogation of Article 370, she said, "These people only want Kashmiri girls and the land there but not Kashmiris."
He brandished the court order and said, "I was being tortured by some special people. Sushma Swaraj ji and Arun Jaitley ji must be hearing me speak today."