JNU violence: ABVP demands inquiry, says conduct probe under SC supervision

The West Bengal unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Tuesday demanded a high-level inquiry into Sunday evening's violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and said the probe could be held under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Terming the clash "unfortunate", ABVP state president Saptarshi Sarkar alleged that the violence was the handiwork of Leftitst forces who want to destabilise the situation in the JNU.

More than 35 students and faculty members were assaulted on Sunday evening after masked men armed with sticks and iron rods went on a rampage inside the campus of the institute.

The Left-controlled JNU Students Union and the ABVP are blaming each other for the violence. The Delhi Police is now probing the incident.

"Whatever happened in the JNU is unfortunate but there is a lack of clarity in the chain of events. We demand a high-level inquiry into the incident," Sarkar told a press conference.

Asked who will conduct the probe, the ABVP leader said, "Any competent authority at the highest level. It can also be held under the supervision of the Supreme Court."

He claimed that 25 ABVP members including its university unit secretary Manish Jangid were injured in the January 5 incident at the JNU, but that has not been highlighted. The leader of the RSS' student wing said the organisation believed that Leftist forces were behind the violence in order to destabilise the situation in the JNU on the pretext of protesting against fee hike.

"They want to vitiate the academic atmosphere in the JNU and other universities like the Jadavpur University where they have organisations," Sarkar said.

He also flayed the SFI, the student's wing of the CPI (M), for allegedly steering its rallies from streets towards offices of political opponents and setting ablaze the flag of a political party.

Sarkar was referring to a students' rally, the participants of which tried to march towards the BJP state headquarters on December 20. The procession was organised to protest against the amended Citizenship Act.

A flag of the saffron party was also allegedly set on fire by the Students Federation of India (SFI) activists during a rally at Jadavpur area here on Monday.

"Do they call it a democratic protest? In what kind of agitation the flag of a political party is set ablaze?" Sarkar asked.

ABVP state unit Assistant Secretary Shyamashree Karmakar said, while the Jadavpur University unit of the SFI was talking about democracy and liberal values, its leadership has been accused of practising gender discrimination.

She quoted reports published in a section of media that over 30 members resigned from SFI's Jadavpur University unit citing lack of action against charges of sexual harassment, discrimination based on gender and caste and taunting for smoking cigarettes.

Sarkar said while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was quick to issue a statement after the JNU incident and send a Trinamool Congress delegation there, she had not uttered a word condemning the death of two students "in police firing" at Daribhit in the state and the attack on 144 ABVP activists in recent times.

Two students were killed in a clash over recruitment of Urdu and Sanskrit teachers in a school at Daribhit in North Dinajpur district in 2018.

The ABVP will organise programmes in different colleges "to expose the SFI and Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and the real truth behind the JNU incident.