‘Will take stringent steps if saffron insulted’, says Hindutva outfit as it puts up posters near JNU
NEW DELHI, APRIL 15: The Hindu Sena has put up posters and saffron flags near the main gate of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and surrounding areas close to a week after a clash broke out in a hostel over allegedly serving non-vegetarian food during Ram Navami.
It also warned of “stringent steps” if there is an “insult to saffron”.
Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta said the posters reading “Bhagwa (saffron) JNU” have been put up by the right-wing outfit’s national vice-president Surjit Singh Yadav.
In a video circulated on WhatsApp, Gupta is purportedly heard saying in Hindi, “Saffron is being insulted in the JNU campus on a regular basis. We want to warn those who are doing this. Mend your ways. We won’t tolerate this.”
“We respect your ideology and every religion. Insult to saffron will not be tolerated and we might take stringent steps,” he said.
Two groups of students clashed at JNU’s Kaveri Hostel on Sunday allegedly over serving non-vegetarian food in the mess on Ram Navami, with police saying six students were injured in the violence.
The two groups, however, claimed that over 60 students from both sides were injured.
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) alleged that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members stopped students from eating non-vegetarian food in the hostel mess and “created a violent atmosphere”.
However, the right-wing ABVP denied the charge and claimed that “Leftists” obstructed a puja programme organised at the hostel on Ram Navami.
Nation will never progress if there will be clashes and hooliganism in schools and colleges, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday reacting to the JNU violence.
“Children go to study in schools and colleges and only studies should happen at these places. If studies happen, only then will the nation progress,” said Kejriwal on the sidelines of an event here when asked about the violence at the university.
“If there will be clashes and hooliganism, the nation will not progress,” he added.
The two students groups on Monday lodged police complaints against each other, while varsity authorities claimed the violence occurred after some students objected to a ‘hawan’, an assertion also made by RSS-affiliate ABVP.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration also warned students of disciplinary action if they were found indulging in any kind of violence on campus.
-The New Indian Express
