Not a single month has passed in which JNU is not in the news. This time, violence after the closely-watched students’ union election at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The election delivered victory to the Left-backed All India Students Association (AISA), members of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the AISA clashed on the campus. A united front of Left student groups Sunday won all four central panel posts in the union defeating the ABVP by considerable margins.
The new president of the JNUSU, N. Sai Balaji, said that at night, ABVP students randomly attacked some other students and he was called to the scene at Sutlej Hostel. “As the elected JNUSU president I went to ensure the safety of the students. Upon reaching, what I saw was mayhem. The mob led by Saurabh Sharma was baiting for the blood of any student and they were attacking students with sticks,” said Balaji.
The ABVP and the AISA have both filed complaints at the Vasant Kunj police station.
“Yesterday at around 3 a.m, PCR calls about a scuffle between students in JNU were received. Subsequently, we have had discussions with university authorities, students and university professors . Complaints have been received in PS VK North. Legal action is being taken on merit. The situation is under control now and normal. Police arrangements are in place.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Devender Arya
In a tweet, JNU student leader Shehla Rashid accused the “ABVP mob (of) attacking Abhinay (former JNUSU councillor) and how “security guards tried to protect him while ABVP guys continued their attack”.
Reacting to the events, an ABVP spokesperson said that it was a student from the ABVP who had been attacked by the “criminals hiding as champions of Communist ideology”.
The spokesperson said, “Around 15-20 Left workers, including non-students, were led by the outgoing JNUSU president Geeta Kumari and her close friend Ankit Singh and entered the room of a student named Sujal Yadav and hit him with sticks and threw punches.
Now which party is lying and which party is telling the truth, only time would tell, when the veil would be revealed. The violence after Student Union election maligned the positive and intellectual image of JNUSU elections where ideology and agenda for the welfare of students reign over the money and power pomp and show.
