BJP-Linked Body Blames Left Outfits Over Shivaji Portrait Row At JNU

The BJP-linked student organisation on Monday blamed the Left-backed outfits for the vandalism of a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj portrait at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members had on Sunday also accused the Congress-backed National Students' Union of India (NSUI) for orchestrating the vandalism at the JNU Students' Union office.

The ABVP also put forward the demand of naming the JNUSU office after Shivaji.

"We had installed a portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the JNUSU office. But members of Left-backed students' unions removed the portrait and threw the garland into a dustbin, resulting in a fight (with ABVP members). Five-six members were injured in the clash," Kumar Ashutosh, social media convenor of ABVP at JNU, told ANI.

"We demand that the JNU administration and Delhi Police take strict action against them. We also want the JNUSU office to be named after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," he said.

"It seems the only job of the Left-backed student activists is to push a narrative against stalwarts and warriors who built India and fought for it. This is a well-thought-out conspiracy of the Left," added Mr Ashutosh.

"They raised slogans against India on JNU campus in 2016 and are indulging in similar mischiefs again. We at ABVP will always rise against such conspiracies to run down India or sully the country's image," he said.

On whether they have reported the alleged vandalism to the police, he said, "A police team arrived on campus after receiving our complaint. We will soon file a written complaint."

The NSUI had earlier denied any involvement in the alleged desecration of the Shivaji portrait on the JNU campus.

NSUI general secretary Ganpat Chaudhary said ABVP members kept the portrait at the JNUSU office without permission because of which other students removed it.

ABVP activists also staged a protest while accusing the Left-backed students' activists of 'insulting' Shivaji.

ABVP-JNU Secretary Umesh Chandra Ajmera said, "We had put up a portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the walls outside the student activity centre as a mark tribute. But the Communists couldn't digest this and vandalised the portrait."

He further alleged that those involved in the incident were outsiders who entered the campus without permission.

The ABVP Secretary urged the JNU administration to take strict action against the accused and stop such attempts to destroy the ambience on campus.

"We request the JNU administration to take strict action against the accused and stop outsiders from entering the campus and creating a nuisance. These people should be stopped from giving the university a bad name," Mr Ajmera added.