BENGALURU: Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who have staged a series of protests and rallies in the city demanding action against Amnesty International, were forced to step back on Thursday.
As announced by ABVP, hundreds of students and activists gathered near the Government Girls Pre University College on Malleswaram 13th Cross in the city on Thursday morning. But police had taken all precautionary measures and deployed a KSRP battalion near the college.
When the activists tried to enter the college to bring the students out to join the rally, police personnel stopped them at the gate and the activists had to end up getting rakhis tied. Police were deployed even near the ABVP office in Seshadripuram to prevent any trouble.
Reacting to this, Santosh Reddy, a member of ABVP, said, “Our fight is not against the police, we are fighting against anti- nationals and demanding the arrest of those who chanted such slogans. They can stop us today, but not tomorrow. We will continue our fight.”
Meanwhile, the police have instructed principals of city colleges not to allow students to participate in protests or rallies organised by ABVP. Activists who were trying to enter the colleges were stopped at the entrance by police.
As the police were not aware about ABVP’s next plan, the moment the activists left the Girls College, police too followed them and when the activists tried to enter KLE College in Rajajinagar, they were stopped there also.
“We will fight until they initiate action against the organisation which organised the event and those who shouted slogans,” said Prashanth of ABVP.
Stay away from office, Amnesty tells employees
Following the outrage by ABVP over alleged ‘anti-national’ sloganeering at an event organised by Amnesty International, employees of the NGO have been asked to work from home.
The move, according to sources, is due to fears that ABVP activists might demonstrate in front of its national head office in Indiranagar.
It is learnt that police personnel had issued instructions to the NGO as they were expecting trouble. Police personnel were also deputed in front of the office to prevent any untoward incident from occurring. As a result, a total of 86 employees of Amnesty International, stayed away from their office.
Amnesty International has been facing the heat for the last couple of days, after a programme ‘Broken Families’ held in the city last Saturday had spiralled into a controversy.
Following a complaint by ABVP activists, sedition charges were filed against the NGO, which attracted mixed reactions from across the country.
According to an employee of Amnesty, who preferred to remain anonymous, the move by Amnesty was only for a short period of time. “We are waiting for the controversy to die down, as we also fear for our safety. As soon as our safety is ensured, we will return to work,” the employee added.