At Tiranga march, call for action against ‘anti-nationals’ resonates

We won’t let DU become JNU part 2. Every student of this university loves the country. We are being accused of indulging in violence but it was others who beat up students.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) led by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took out a “Tiranga Rally” and marched from Ramjas College to Arts Faculty on Monday.

DUSU said the march was called by students from different colleges, who wanted them to lead it.

“This rally is by common students who had asked DUSU to lead it. Students are against those who organised the event and called Umar Khalid. We want action against those from the Left student organisations who indulged in violence and beat up common students,” said Satinder Awana, former DUSU president.

Violent clashes had broken out following the cancellation of a literary event at Ramjas college with ABVP on one side and Left Wing student organisations along with students from different DU colleges on the other.

The protesting students, mainly belonging to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) student wing ABVP said they were protesting against the All India Students Association (AISA) “for shouting anti-India slogans”.

Awana said that they also wanted action against the teachers who had allegedly raised anti-national slogans at Ramjas College.

At the march, students raised slogans against Left-leaning students organisation such as AISA and alleged that students from JNU had come to campus on Wednesday and indulged in violence. “We won’t let DU become JNU Part 2. Every student of this university loves the country. We are being accused of indulging in violence but the truth is it was the others who beat up common students,” said Ankit Singh Sangwan, general secretary DUSU. NEWDELHI: A day ahead his retirement, the longest serving principal of Ramjas College, Rajendra Prasad made an emotional appeal to students, to “act responsibly through constructive engagement and resist from any form of disruptive action”. He asked the students to stay calm and return to study and work towards making college peaceful.

“My heart bleeds when Ramjas bleeds, because I have put in thirty two years of blood, sweat and tears to bring Ramjas to its present stature,” the principal wrote in a letter put up on the college website on Monday.

Terming the incidents of the past week “very unfortunate”, he urged students “not to get involved in any activity which spoils the name and dignity of Ramjas.” HEENA KAUSAR