A late-night event at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) commemorating the January 5, 2020, campus violence has triggered a major political controversy. The incident, which occurred on Monday night, came under scrutiny after videos circulated online allegedly showing students raising contentious slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Event Details and Student Union's Stance
The gathering was organized as a 'guerrilla dhaba' remembrance call near the Sabarmati hostel on the university campus. It marked six years since a group of masked individuals stormed JNU, an attack that left several students and teachers injured. Among the injured was then JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh.
JNUSU general secretary Sunil Yadav confirmed that the student union had issued the call for the remembrance event. However, when questioned about the specific slogans that have caused the uproar, Yadav declined to comment. "As far as the slogans are concerned, I cannot comment on this at the moment," he stated. The JNU administration did not respond to requests for a statement on the matter.
Political Reactions and Condemnation
The alleged slogans prompted swift and strong condemnation from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Delhi ministers. Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Ashish Sood slammed the incident, linking it to opposition parties.
"These are separatist people. Raising such slogans against the Prime Minister and Home Minister is extremely shameful. The AAP and Congress have always supported such people," Sirsa told reporters ahead of the second day of the Delhi Assembly's Winter Session. He accused those involved of having no respect for the Constitution or the law.
Former JNUSU Joint Secretary from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Vaibhav Meena, also criticized the event. In a video statement, he accused the current student union leadership of protesting against constitutional institutions. "The way they protested is completely shameful… They protested against the Indian state, against the Indian judiciary, the Supreme Court," Meena alleged. He called upon the JNU administration to take strict action to prevent such incidents in the future.
Background of the 2020 JNU Violence
The event being commemorated remains a deeply contentious chapter in JNU's history. The January 5, 2020, violence saw armed assailants attack students and faculty inside the campus. Many students and teachers had pointed fingers at members affiliated with the ABVP for the attack, an allegation the organization has consistently denied. The remembrance event has reopened these old wounds, intertwining them with fresh political accusations.
The controversy highlights the ongoing tensions on the university campus and how campus events often reverberate in the national political discourse. With demands for administrative action growing, the JNU administration faces pressure to address the latest incident.
