NEW DELHI: Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s address at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was disrupted on Thursday, as left-wing students erupted in protest outside the venue and raised slogans against the Centre’s move to strip the erstwhile state of its constitutional privileges.
“Kashmir Hai Hum Kashmiriyon Ka, Modi Ki Jangir Nahi (Kashmir is for Kashmiris, it is not Modi’s property),” the protesters screamed.
As leftwing students disrupted the Union minister’s address, students affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), massed at the scene and raised slogans in support of withdrawal of Article 370.
“Jo Afzal Ki Chaal Chalega, Woh Afzal Ki Maut Marega; Kashmir Se Kanyakumari, Bharat Mata Hai Humari (Whoever conspires like Afzal, will die like him. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Bharat Mata is ours,” the right-wing protesters chanted. The two groups came to blows, as students started pushing and heckling each other. However, no police complaint was filed in the matter.
Devendra Arya, DCP (southwest), said, “We haven’t received any complaint from either the students or the university as yet. We also haven’t deployed any personnel on campus in the wake of the alleged fracas.”